The third God
by Derp'Koz
Summary: Despite all the suffering he went through, he managed to succeed in the end. It didn't matter if he had to completely burn his own soul, he was ready to forfeit that and much more. But for some strange reason, it seemed like destiny was not going to let his fury die just yet. Not before he saved her one last time.
1. Chapter 1 - The never-ending cycle

**I**

神

 **God**

* * *

 **Episode 1**

* * *

 _Please..._

 _..._

 _Save her..._

...

I will...

...

 _I shall bear the burden of your life and wrath..._

...

 _Your death will be the foundation of my new world..._

...

Your new world is nothing but hell...

...

 _You are a fool..._

 _..._

 _Why can't you see we are trying to save Gaea...?_

...

Liar...

...

 _Ah... Where will that anger take you...?_

 _..._

 _Walk the path that you_ _must_...

...

I am not like you...

...

 _You have no idea how much preparation and power is needed to save the world..._

 _..._

 _It is all for our cause: The Great Rebirth..._

...

I couldn't care less...

...

 _You are indeed the one to inherit this world..._

 _..._

 _I am counting on you..._

...

I refuse...

...

 _Why must you fight your fate...?_

 _It has been your destiny to follow the path I crafted for you..._

 _Why can't you understand...?_

 _..._

 _Why can't you become a God...?_

 _Just like me..._

 _..._

You are no God to me...

I pray to no one, nor will I be prayed to...

But above all else...

Above all the pain you caused...

Above all the lives you destroyed...

...

I will never forgive you...

For making my daughter cry!

He awoke in the immensity of nothingness, surrounded by pitch-black darkness where nothing could be seen. He looked around, unsure about his current situation... But it didn't take long before something else began filling his body. He felt his limbs tremble in anticipation and the all too familiar feeling of something exploding over and over again... He gritted his teeth and clenched his fist...

Once again...

He was furious...

He opened his mouth and roared into the oblivion, filling every corner with a crimson glow and illuminating as far as he could see. Slowly, the barrier that kept him caged began shattering, letting the warm beams of sunlight bathe his white hair and glowing eyes. With a new path ahead, he did the only thing he knew to do when everything made no sense... He punched his way out of danger.

The material seemed quite resilient but he had been holding back for so long, his gauntlets did a short job on the shell and after another burst of crimson mantra, he was finally free from the prison. He fell roughly on the ground, feeling suddenly weak but that would not stop him from breaking apart everything and anyone that dared to challenge him...

But instead of the grotesque demons he used to fight, he was greeted by a silent and peaceful forest. Above him, he could see a shattered moon in a night sky filled with stars. The wind blew gently through his face and the sound of a thousand leaves dancing was all he could hear all around him. But the fire in his core would not settle, he could still feel that irritating sensation soaring through his veins like hot magma. There was something in this forest... Something he couldn't see... Something creeping in the shadows...

Something he had met in the past...

...

"You are finally free, I see..." Said a familiar voice behind him. He widened his eyes and turned around to see a thin yellow thread in front of him, he looked at it until he finally found a small golden spider moving alongside it "It never ceases to impress me how stubborn you are..."

"You...!" He yelled, leaping in the air and punching the spider. But his hand passed the creature as if it weren't there. "W-What kind of trick is this...?!" He demanded with his eyes wide open in confusion.

"And I can also see you are as stupid as before..." The spider said, hopping from the thread and landing softly on his shoulders "Why are you so surprised by my current condition, huh...?"

"Get away from me!" He roared, trying to squash the spider. But once again, he failed to do so.

"How disappointing..." The spider sighed as his hands passed its body "I can't believe a monkey such as yourself managed to kill me... Don't you remember...?"

"I... I can't..." He growled, clenching his head in pain "Why... Why are you here?! I destroyed you! I saw you perish...!" Suddenly, something crossed his mind and he began inspecting his body "No... Why am I...? What is the meaning of this?!"

"I am glad to see you are finally asking the right questions..." The spider commented, leaping from his shoulder and grabbing the thread "It is as you remember... You killed me and completely destroyed the mantra... As a result, you should have died and banished as well... But sadly for you, I haven't given up just yet..." The spider said with malice.

"What do you mean?!" He said, taking a step forward.

"I can't deny you surpassed my expectations and even managed to defeat me... But you must never forget I became a God for a reason. In my final moments, I cursed you and your wrath... And now, you will face the consequences of your actions! You will be punished for going against my will! In this new world, you will once again lose everything you hold dear! And when you have finally lost all hope, they will come and make you suffer for all eternity! In this world I crafted so many centuries ago, my children will make you regret defying me!"

"You bastard!" He growled as a red aura began burning his body "I will make you pay for this, Chakravartin!"

"Yes! That's it! Let your anger and wrath burn brighter than any star in the firmament! Show this new world the kind of monster you truly are! Let them taste the same fear all those demigods felt before you slaughter them! Do what you do best: Destroy everything, Asura!"

The earth beneath his feet began shaking uncontrollably as if the whole planet feared the sudden surge of mantra. Asura slammed his fist into the soil and caused a shockwave to rip apart the trees and leave a crater. He could no longer see the golden spider but he no longer was in control of his actions. His rage had finally taken over and his mind was clouded with wrath. Soon enough, his body began to darken and even his features were slowly twisting.

Even after all the sacrifices he did, that bastard still managed to annoy him one more time...

But no more...

This time, he would make sure not even his soul survives the fire of his fury... Even if he had to burn the depths of Naraka...

...

...

 _Father..._

He stopped all altogether and looked around him, confused. it was faint but he was able to hear a soft voice calling for him... A familiar voice that always made him able to push forward even if he was at the end of the world... A soft and melodious voice he swore to protect even if he had to break every single bone in his body...

"M... Mithra...?" He called in the night.

...

 _Father!_

"Mithra! Where are you, Mithra?!" He screamed looking left and right, unable to locate where the voice came from.

 _"Father! Help me!"_

He widened his eyes and dashed into the forest. Now he was sure that voice was not a product of his imagination, he had clearly heard the voice of his precious daughter somewhere nearby... And by the looks of it, she was in danger...

Asura had never been able to handle his daughter. He had grown in a violent world so he didn't know how to approach his precious and delicate child, he was deadly afraid of harming her with his hands that could easily tear apart humongous Ghoma. But in the end, Asura was still Mithra's father... And maybe he was not able to act normally around her... But he could at least destroy everything that made her cry...

Both Gods and Devils alike...

He heard her scream again and with a mighty roar, he leaped above the trees and landed in a wide clearing near a cliff. His landing caused the whole mountain to shake and lifted a curtain of dust. Through it, Asura could hear the snarling of the creatures and monsters that were trying to harm his daughter. He couldn't see them very well but he knew they were there, attracted by his mantra... But when a gale of wind cleared the dust, Asura was more surprised than angry...

Those creatures were not Ghoma... But they were similar in some way. They all exuded the same corrupted bloodlust and seemed to have taken the shape of former animals. These new monsters had their body completely black with some sort of mask made of a white material. The creatures had the shape of a bipedal wolf with large claws, they slowly approached Asura as they it weren't sure how to deal with him... But on the other hand, the Demigod was not patient. So with a quick move, he completely decimated the closest monster with a single punch. Now his surprise was shock, he knew he was strong but even the Ghoma could take a punch or two. This new type of monster had exploded with just one attack. Either way, Asura soon realized he didn't have the time to worry about that... The other monsters were now howling and surrounding him with their maws open and ready to tear him apart.

As Asura took note of every single one of them, he saw something by the cliff... It was a small child, hiding beneath a white cloak and trembling in fear...

"You...! How dare you...?!" He roared and allowed the mantra to glow in his gauntlets "I will kill you all!"

As if the creatures could understand his words, they all attacked at the same time... But it was useless. In comparison with the Ghoma, these monsters were considerably weaker... They were so weak Asura managed to tear them apart with a single mantra burst. The chunks of their bodies fell everywhere and Asura noticed they disappeared in a pool of black goo. He grunted in disgust and slowly approached the child.

"Mithra..." He said softly, lifting his hand and trying to touch the child "It's going to be okay... I am here... Just let me..."

But when he was about to grab the cloak, the bulge gasped and backed away towards the cliff. The kid would have fallen if it weren't for Asura quickly snatching them away from the edge. The kid kept trembling in his hands and Asura took advantage of this to get rid of the cloak.

But...

"W-Who are you...?" He asked slowly.

It was a young girl, similar to the one he had found on the surface during his battle against the seven deities. Both of them held an uncanny resemblance with Mithra but this one was different from the other human girl or Mithra...

She had silver eyes...

The girl watched Asura with fear and curled as much as she could and began sobbing quietly. Asura was taken aback by this and softly placed her on the ground. He stared at her for a few seconds and decided to give her some space... Besides, he had never learned how to deal with crying children. So with a sigh, he walked towards the cliff and just stood there watching the landscape and waiting...

After a few minutes, the sobbing stopped and Asura was able to hear a quiet rustling behind him. If he had to guess, the child had run away. It was better this way, he could follow her and protect her from those monsters until somebody else found her. Maybe her parents or someone from her village... But if Asura was honest with himself, he was sure it would be the latter. By the looks of it, the family had been attacked and the girl had escaped while her parents tried to distract the monsters...

Pitiful, indeed...

He stayed there, admiring the shattered moon for a few more seconds before he was sure the child was fairly far away... But to his surprise, the girl was right behind him, staring at him with teary eyes and hugging the white cloak tightly. They stared at each other in an awkward silence before both of them heard the howling of a beast nearby. The girl jolted and looked behind her nervously, it looked like she was conflicted over something... And after a while, she did something Asura wasn't expecting: She grabbed one of his fingers with her tiny hands and hid behind him.

"Hey, what are you...?" Asura questioned but when he felt the girl trembling, he sighed and just kept looking forward into the forest.

There were so many things he wanted to say but he simply didn't know how to do so. Durga always had that special touch that comforted the crying Mithra when she was a baby... But Asura never bothered to learn such skill. But after a while, both of them heard something else: It was the screams of several poor souls and the slaughter of the monsters.

"It seems like I was right..." Asura mused in anger. He then felt a tug in his clothes and suddenly, the girl was dashing into the forest. "Hey, wait!" But the girl was already gone, he clicked his tongue and ventured into the darkness as well.

* * *

"Mom... Dad... Please... Please, be safe..." The girl huffed as she ran through the night with her cloak tightly hugged in her arms.

She never really knew how or even why things became like this but right now, she needed to reach the village and see if her mother and father were still there and well... It all started this morning when she and her parents went to do their usual chores, they went to the river to get some water when things began getting out of control. First, that weird woman came out of nowhere and then, the Grimm attacked viciously... It almost felt as if everything had been planned from the very beginning...

During the attack, her father had distracted most of the Grimm so she and her mother could escape... But along the way, a pack of Beowolves had spotted them. Her mother told her to just keep running without looking back and she obeyed... But when she stopped to rest, she realized she was alone... She didn't want to think about it but she could no longer avoid the truth...

Maybe her mother had died somewhere in the forest...

But even like that, she still believed there was hope. She now knew the way back to the village, she had no idea of what she would achieve by returning but she would eventually figure something out. It didn't matter if there was nothing she could do... As long as she found her father, there was still hope...

In her mad run, she didn't see where she was going and fell roughly. She slowly sat and grunted in pain when she flexed her knees. The pain told her she had definitely grazed her skin. The sickly smell of copper almost made her puke... She had seen enough blood for her whole life but something told her there was more waiting for her... She held her tears and got up...

To be greeted by the grotesque snout of an Ursa.

The Grimm stared at her for a second before it roared. The girl screamed and tried to get away but fell again due to the pain in her legs. The Ursa stood on its two legs and was about to rip his head apart... But suddenly, its chest exploded. The monster gagged on its own blood and managed to take a step forward and fell, becoming a pool of a dark liquid before it even touched the ground.

The girl watched the puddle of the disgusting goo for a moment before she turned to her savior. It was that scary man that helped her back at the cliff... In all honesty, the girl had always believed there was nothing scarier than Grimm and yet, she couldn't help but shiver as she was finally able to study the features of the man thoroughly. He was a tall man with spiky white hair, wearing some sort of dark blue pants with a red flame pattern. His skin was tanned but it also had some strange carving on it running all the way over his chest and even in his face. The girl guessed he was a warrior since he had a peculiar set of greaves in his legs and a pair of torn gauntlets made of an unknown material. But the most remarkable thing about him was his eyes. Back home, everyone had silver irises... But his eyes seemed to glow with a strange platinum light... They were mesmerizing but terrible at the same time...

She was brought out of her thoughts when the man scoffed and offered her a hand. She hesitated but gingerly accepted the help. Once again, a pained shriek was heard and the girl knew she could no longer waste any time... But on the other hand, she was afraid of the horrors creeping around in the darkness. But then, the man suddenly carried her in his arms. She stared at him with fright but hugged his arms tightly... And then, he leaped into the night sky. The girl screamed as they kept ascending, the furious wind caressed her cheeks roughly and making her unable to open her eyes. But after a while, the pressure diminished and she was able to peer into the world...

Everything looked so small... They were flying above the biggest mountains and almost touching the stars... She couldn't help but stare at the shattered moon in awe... Who knew there was such beautiful scenery just above the hellish surface? In the corner of her eyes, she saw a cloud of smoke... It was her village burning.

"W-Why did this happen...?!" She cried helplessly "I-I need to get there... I need to find that... I need..." She said between sobbings. But then, she had an idea. He was looking at her with concern but that didn't matter. He was strong, probably a warrior or maybe something else... It didn't matter at all "Please... Please, save my people!" She pleaded, pointing at her village but the man simply kept staring at her. She had heard him speak in a foreign language so it was possible he did not understand her "Please... Help me, please..."

The man kept looking at her with his glowing eyes but to her surprise, he nodded slightly and began falling towards the village. As they got closer, the girl was able to see the malice of the Grimm. The once simple but beautiful houses were now nothing but ruins and some of them were burning to ashes. The main street was filled with corpses, brutalized and lying in startling positions. The girl gagged at the sight and the smell, she had to look to the ground to avoid puking. She had never in her life seen anything like this... Her tears began falling again but she pushed the grief away. She had to at least find her father or any survivor... She breathed slowly and deeply in order to quench her pain and ventured into the nearest house.

"H-hello...?" She called gingerly "Is somebody there...? I-I've come to help... If... If you are alive, please speak to me..." Her words were greeted with silence. She bit her lip and was about to give up when she heard a rustling above. She froze in place and focused so she could hear better... After a few seconds, she heard a pained moan.

Quickly, she climbed the stairs and kicked the door open... To find the torso of a dying old lady. She lost her breath and couldn't stop herself from barfing loudly on the ground. She gasped for air but felt like dying.

"Y-You... You are... Arian Rose... Aren't you...?" The elder woman asked, coughing blood "My sweet... Sweet child... I am happy you are alive..."

"Miss Brons...? Wh-What happened...? Why are you...? How can I help you...?" Arian tried to approach the woman but once her hands made contact with the pool of blood, she yelped and staggered back. She looked at her now soaked palms in the liquid and began trembling, feeling nausea and making the impossible to avoid barfing again. "J-Just wait here... There is someone that can help... Just... Just..." The rest died in her throat.

"I-It's okay, my child... I am afraid... I am afraid this is the end of this old body of mine..." Miss Brons said with a fit of coughs. "But you are still alive... You can make it out of here... Run, my child... Run away from this cursed place and our cursed legacy... You must... You must esca-" And then, Miss Brons began coughing blood again. She wheezed in pain and looked at Arian in her eyes.

"I can't escape just yet! I need to find my father...! Where is my father, Miss Brons?!" Arian begged in despair.

"That fool and the other adults went into the forest... They said they would try to stop the Grimm as much as possible so we could make our escape... I am not sure if they failed but the Grimm appeared regardless... The rest of the elders and I stayed so the youngsters could get away... They must be by the river..." Miss Brons explained slowly "Listen well, Arian: you must not enter the forest... There is something else lurking in the darkness, that woman was the cause of everything... I saw her summoning the Grimm... You must not meet her!"

"But... But who's her?! I don't understand... Who's her?!"

"Salem... She called herself Salem..." The old woman managed to say before she began coughing again.

"Salem..." Arian repeated with a blank expression. She couldn't understand why, but every letter in that name made her feel bad. It was as if her heart was bleeding from the inside, slowly filling her whole being with something poisonous. She felt her tiny hands curl into fists sand tremble... But she wasn't scared. No, it something she hadn't felt in her entire life. Something that was awful yet captivating at the same time.

Her vision blurred as she wasn't able to see anything aside from crimson.

She was furious...

But then, she felt a soft hand caressing her cheek. The old lady was looking at her with a smile on her face. Arian simply didn't know how to react to this, her lips quivered and she felt her tears falling again... There was so much she wanted to say but she knew nothing would change the cruel reality: Miss Brons was going to die regardless, in such a gruesome way it made Arian feel sick.

But the old lady was smiling despite this... And with life escaping her eyes, she managed to comfort Arian one last time...

"It's okay, my dear... Everything is going to be okay... Forget about Salem, forget about the forest... Just go to the river and meet the rest of the youngster... They are just like you: Helpless children surrounded by darkness and terror... But you are strong, you are special... And you may be among the youngest, but I am sure you will be able to protect them and guided them... After all, you are the daughter of your mother and your father... Arian Rose, these are my last words for you: Be strong, be vigilant, be clever... But among all else, be happy... Be happy so we can rest in peace... Be happy so our sacrifice is not for naught... Be happy... Arian Rose..." And then, her eyes dulled and her hand fell to the ground.

Arian simply stayed there, watching the corpse of the lady with nothing in her eyes. She just couldn't believe any of this; It had to be a joke, a sick and twisted joke, a nightmare, a delusion, a nightmare... It simply couldn't be true. But as the seconds passed and she began feeling the fire advancing through the house, her pitiful hopes began shattering. She wasn't waking up... It was real, everything was real: The death of her mother, the disappearance of her father, the destruction of her village, the annihilation of her people... Everything was real... And now, she was alone in this hell.

...

...

But then, she heard heavy steps behind her and the sound of wood being crushed. She turned around and met the man she found in the forest, his terrifying glowing eyes were scanning the room. Once he noticed the corpse, he furrowed his brown and clenched his teeth. His hands curled into fists and a crimson aura began surrounding his entire body. He then punched the wall and made a huge hole on it, he was about to leap into the skies again but he stopped at the last second, he turned around and glanced over Arian. The two of them looked at each other for a while before the man did something Arian wasn't expecting: He sighed and offered her his hand.

Arian didn't know what was going on in the mind of the man... But his intentions were clear: He wanted to take her to wherever he was going, probably the forest by the looks of it. Miss Brons had told her to forget about the Grimm and find the rest of the children by the river... But Arian couldn't just forget about her father and the rest of the adults fighting in the forest. She might be small and weak but this man was strong. And with a little bit of effort, Arian might be able to guide him towards his father so they could save him.

With new determination, she quietly apologized to Miss Brons and covered her corpse with her white cloak. Arian was sure it wasn't what the old lady wanted as a memorial service but it was everything she could manage for now. Arian made sure to cover the body completely and offered her a short prayer. After that, he glanced at the man and nodded. To her surprise, the man gave her a proud and quick smirk before he took her in his arms and leaped into the sky again.

As they kept ascending, none of them was able to see the ominous figure that was staring at them as they disappeared into the thick trees of the forest.

 **つづく...**

 **To be continued...**

* * *

 **The never-ending cycle.**

Long before there was even the concept of life, two brothers walked in the depths of oblivion and darkness. Two all-mighty and all-knowing deities, born before the time and before the dawn of the age of man. Two lonely Gods that walked in the immensity of the nothingness, surrounded by their own thoughts and cravings. Two shining stars with no purpose...

That was until the day when the younger brother came across something strange...

It was something he hadn't seen before, something that was different, something that was not normal for him... It was a small flower on the soil. A simple and harmless flower... But as he stared into its plain colors, the younger brother could feel something else growing within his heart. It was a disgusting and mortifying sensation, spreading from the tip of his toes to the strands of his hairs...

He felt sick, he even puked and gagged...

He just couldn't understand why such small and frail thing could cause this sort of effect on him...

He would not allow it...

He would not allow such nasty thing to exist in the same place as he did...

So with a devious grin, he created something to end it all...

Something that was hot and shiny...

He called it 'Fire'.

The demon in his hands consumed the small flower and reduced it to a pile of fine and gray ashes...

Ah...

How delightful...

He could feel something pleasurable slowly filling his empty life. And as he walked down the path, he realized there were more of those things... Those ugly things... Those nasty and weak things... Those... Those things that burnt beautifully with his fire...

Finally...

He was complete...

And just like that, he would walk during the nights... Looking for those wonderful and colorful things... So he could destroy them and relish in that delightful feeling all over again. But it was not enough, it was never enough...

Those things were resilient and no matter how many times he burnt them, they always came back. So he decided to create something else... And in the depths of the night, he brought forth every single one of his devious and evil thoughts. He condensed all of it until it began shaping... It took the form of the creatures he had seen, but these were corrupted, hungry for the flesh, thirsty for the blood...

These were the creatures of Grimm.

But in his apparent onslaught, a light stood against his darkness. And from the veils, his older brother came with a proposal...

He did not want to spend the rest of eternity fighting against his younger brother, so he came up with an idea... Both would work together and achieve something above everything they have created. They would craft and give life to a being capable of so many beautiful things... But also, they would commit the greatest sins... The younger brother had his doubts but he knew his precious Grimm could no longer amuse him... So he accepted...

And the humans were born.

These creatures proved to be extremely magnificent in comparison with every other being in Remnant. Capable of both create and destroy. Capable of giving and taking life, they extended across the planet and conquered and managed to adapt wonderfully...

They were magnificent...

...

But it didn't take long before they realized they were not safe...

The hideous creatures of Grimm survived... And within them have grown a pleasure for brutalizing the weak humans. Attracted by the negative feelings of humanity, the Grimm attacked and almost eradicate the whole human race.

The Grimm were unstoppable, relentless, merciless...

But humans were not alone...

Many mighty and regal heroes suddenly appeared to protect humanity and give them hope. The four Maidens were a clear example of this...

But deep in the mountains, something else was born...

Far away from the protection of the Maidens or the legends of the two deity brothers, there was a tribe of humble humans that lived in solitude... Away from the dangers of Grimm, away from the greedy and maleficent nature of the other humans, away from the world...

No matter how hard they tried, the forces of evil seemed unable to reach such peaceful land...

The Grimm never dared to approach them...

Those hideous creatures that fed on negative feelings...

They were... Scared...

No one really knew what was the origin of such legend but with time, the rumors eventually leaked...

But these tales spoke about the most powerful warriors in the whole world. Men and women capable of surpassing the Grimm and even the Maidens...

There were so many rumors and none of them seemed to make any sense at all...

But there was one peculiar feature that repeated itself over and over again, it was something strange indeed...

Apparently, these mighty warriors also had their own deity...

A God incredibly different from the Deity Brothers...

...

...

Nobody knew the name of such God or his objective in Remnant...

And yet, all of them trembled in front of his powerful might...

...

...

In his Silver eyes...

And Crimson Wrath...

 **完**


	2. Chapter 2 - Awake and alive

**Episode 2**

* * *

Asura was in a great predicament. He didn't know where he was, he didn't know what to do and above all else, he was pissed off... That had to be the worst combination of all times. He could still remember the last time he felt like this: When he first resurrected and had lost all his memories, he stumbled upon a human settlement. Unable to even understand their words, he stayed there for a few hours before the Ghoma raided the place. After he had dealt with the monsters, the demigods appeared... But instead of helping the hopeless humans, they finished the jobs the Ghoma started and slaughtered every surviving human in the village.

Asura could still taste the fury in his mouth when the humans began dying in front of his eyes. One by one, they were brutalized by the demigods while these simply laughed at their pleas. Unable to stand it anymore, he allowed his fists to do the talking and he obliterated every single one of those bastards. The rest was old story: Wyzen tried to act all high and mighty when he was nothing but a small fry... And then Yasha came and killed him for the second time... Even in his rage, Asura could somehow understand the reason behind the actions of his brother-in-arms. Yasha was just like him: A stubborn idiot that was easily fooled. He had tried to follow the best path in order to save humanity... In the end, that same resolve had caused his betrayal to Deus and his revolution against the remaining Seven Deities.

But for now, this was neither the time nor the place to think about those things. He and the girl had landed in what seemed to be a burning village, probably the home of the child. It seemed like the monsters had done a short job on the villagers as Asura could see more than a dozen of corpses in the middle of the main street, Most of the houses were completely obliterated and some of them were even burning to crisp. It looked like a complete hell... But for Asura, it was more than that: He had fought several thousands of Ghoma hordes in his long life so he was now able to recognize patterns in the seemingly chaotic attacks of the Ghoma. The traces and corpses may look disorganized and randomly attacked but Asura was able to see a few unusual things. The footprints had a certain pattern and even if the corpses were brutalized, it seemed like the monsters had tried to kill all of them as fast as possible. It seemed like the pack sent to deal with the villagers had to regroup with a larger group somewhere in the forest, probably to fight the main force or something like that.

As he was inspecting the rest of the corpses for clues, he noticed the girl running toward one of the houses. In all honesty, Asura felt like he should just abandon her and go alone to deal with the monsters, it would be easier for him to fight if he didn't have to worry about the extra luggage... And even if he didn't want to admit it, he was afraid this silver-eyed girl would end up just like the other human girl he found in the land of Gaea. They both looked like Mithra and seeing them dying was something he was not going to be able to handle a second time. But then again, it wasn't as if he could just leave her on her own in the apparent hell. He still didn't know what those monsters were and how they attacked. So with a resigned sigh, he followed the girl into the house.

The first thing he noted was the family portraits. A group of people wearing a set of clothes similar to the humans in Gaea, they looked like farmers and amateur hunters. But the big surprise came when Asura noted another portrait, these ones had a lot of people on it... And even if he couldn't believe it, some of those humans had horns and even animal ears. As far as he was concerned, animals were animals, humans were humans, demigods were demigods, and Ghoma were Ghoma. He had never in his life seen such mix between two different species... But, oh well, Asura had never been one to judge someone by their appearances. He knew very well that actions spoke louder than mere words or looks. After all, who would have thought that the shiny Chakravartin was such a megalomaniac monster on the inside?

Shaking his head, he continued looking around the house. Observing every little detail and imagining how these people lived and used to deal with their everyday occurrences. It was a complete and useless hobby but for Asura, it meant more than just a waste of time. The more he imagined how happy and peaceful they were, the angrier he was and thus, the stronger he became. Augus had taught him this in order to unleash his true potential... And so far, it had worked marvelously.

He heard a rustling upstairs and several bloody coughs. He looked at the ceiling for a while but after making sure there was no evil aura coming from above, he continued inspecting the house. He found a set of stairs by his side and began climbing them, taking note of the small portraits that were hanging on the wall. Some had humans and some others had the humanoid creatures with animal traits. But now that he was taking a closer note, he realized all the humans had the same silver irises... How odd.

At the top of the stairs, he found a tattered door and through it, he saw the young girl kneeling and speaking to someone. He got closer to see who it was... But once he realized what was going on, he began feeling his fury boiling inside his core. It was the corpse of an old lady, her lower half was missing and there was a pool of blood on the floor. By the looks of it, she had just recently expired. As he got closer, the young girl heard him coming and turned around; Her beautiful silver eyes were completely filled with tears.

That was the last straw.

Feeling the mantra burning all over his body, Asura punched the nearest wall, obliterating the wood and creating a huge hole. At the distance, he could see the pitch-black forms of the monsters running in the forest. The demigod didn't know what they were or what was their objective... But there was something he was deadly aware of: They could die... Very easily, in his opinion. And as long as there were a lot of them, Asura was sure he could quench his wrath by killing every single one of them. He prepared to launch himself into the skies like he did so many times in the past...

...

But he couldn't...

He remained there, at the edge of the hole, just staring at the shattered moon in the sky. No matter how hard he tried, his legs would no listen to his commands. He was completely frozen... And as the seconds passed, he finally realized why; He turned around and saw that the girl was looking at him with wide teary eyes. She was still hugging that white cloak of hers. Asura knew this was a bad idea, bringing the girl along would mean more annoying task for him to do aside from killing monsters... But on the other hand, she looked just like Mithra... And Naraka would be damned if he left his precious daughter alone again.

So with a bit of reluctance, he sighed and offered a hand to the girl. The girl was surprised, to say the least. It seemed like no matter where he went, he would always cause fear among the humans... But to his surprise, the girl simply covered the corpse with her white cloak, offered a silent prayer to the old lady, and nodded to him. Asura couldn't help but smirk with a bit of pride. He carefully took the girl in his arms, and they leaped into the night.

As they kept ascending, Asura was able to see a pack of those creatures running through the forest. Ahead of them, he could see the dim light of several bonfires and torches moving in total chaos. It seemed like the main force of the village decided to fight the monsters away from their village... It was such a shame some of those monsters weren't as stupid as the humans thought. He saw the girl yelling something but Asura knew what had to be done; He directed his body towards the forest and landed between the monsters and the bonfires, creating a large crater and lifting a cloud of dust, As the creatures got closer, Asure put the girl gently behind one tree. The girl gave him a worried look but Asura simply smirked and patted her head. Behind him, the monsters had already caught up to them... But upon noticing him, all of them stopped in place. Asura slowly turned around and glanced at the newcomers.

The frontline was formed with several of those wolf-like creatures, all of them in different sizes. Asura also noticed an especially huge one at the back, donning a bunch bony white spikes in his back; The alpha of the pack, Asura supposed. Behind the wolves, he also saw the bears and two new pairs of species: The first ones resembled the boars. These creatures had two massive tusks coming from their snouts, it had plates of some kind of white armor alongside their thighs and backs. The second species was the one Asura felt most familiar with; It had the shape of an overgrown gorilla that reminded him of a Gohma Howler. They had their bodies partially covered with the same white and bony plates. While the Ghoma howler displayed some sort of corrupted look, these gorillas looked in shambles, as if they were slowly rotting away and becoming something else. For Asura, none of that mattered. He just hoped they would be more resistant than the others.

As he had expected, the first ones to attack were the wolves... But the results were no different from the last time. Asura obliterated each and every single one of them with a single punch, sending the remains sprawling all over the place and watching as these became a puddle of that disgusting black goo. The alpha howled in anger at this and attempted to hit Asura with its claws but the Demigod simply slapped its limb away, breaking it apart in the process. The monster had enough time to look at its ruined limb for a moment before the Demigod grabbed its maw and ripped its head out its shoulders. The beheaded corpses remained standing for a second before it collapsed, becoming a puddle of the same goo after a while. Asura stepped on the puddle, crossed his arms and glared at the remaining monsters.

"Who's next?" He growled at the rest of the monsters.

The boars didn't move... But the gorillas accepted his challenge, hitting their chests and howling at him. One of them finally dashed towards Asura and hit him straight in his jaw with his massive fist. The girl yelled in horror behind him but Asura was unfazed; He barely felt a thing and the gorilla only managed to tilt his head a little to the side. They stayed like that for a second, with the gorilla unable to move due to either surprise, shock, fear... Or probably all of them.

"Is that all?" Asura asked in disappointment "Is that truly all?!" He growled and the gorilla hopped away "You worthless scum! This is what a real punch looks like!" Asura roared and dashed towards the gorilla. The creature, unable to even comprehend what happened, had its head completely disfigured under the monstrous strength of the Demigod. Its face sank in and almost all of its teeth came out of their sockets before he was launched into the hair. The gorilla flew past the rest of the group until it splattered into a huge rock, disintegrating in a puddle of black goo. The monsters stared in silence at their fallen comrade until they heard a twig snapping behind them, they turned around to see the Demigod cracking his knuckles with a red aura surrounding his entire body.

"Who's next?" He asked before he rushed into the fray

* * *

Arian couldn't believe her silver eyes.

She had heard rumors about people managing to defeat the Grimm but those tales spoke about terrible battles where humans would reach their limits in a vain attempt to fight the vicious monsters. This was a massacre: The man... No, the demon Arian had found simply tore apart every single one of them. The dangerous Beringels that were able to rip the arms of an adult man couldn't even push the demon away with their huge hands. The Beowolves that were capable of bitting through the strongest shell had their fangs shattered upon making contact with the skin of the demon. The Boarbatusks that were known for being unstoppable were easily swatted away by the demon as if they were flies. The carnage continued with the demon brutalizing the creatures of Grimm as they kept coming from behind, attracted by the sounds and the obvious aggression of the demon... But to Arian's surprise, the Grimm ignored her; They seemed more interested in the demon slaughtering their brethren.

Arian knew it was a bad idea... But she couldn't just remain here and wait for the demon to be done with the Grimm. Her father was somewhere in the forest, fighting against the Grimm without knowing that their plan had failed. Arian could also see a few of the Grimm leaving and making way towards the bonfires in the distance, perhaps looking for easier prey or obeying some darker will. Either way, this might be the only chance she would ever get to find her father... So in silence, she glanced at the man one last time before she ventured on her own.

As she ran through the trees, she was greeted with more atrocious specimens of the Creatures of Grimm. Monsters as big as mountains, abnormal chimeras with disfigured bodies, disgusting nightmares crawling in the dirt, a huge flock of demons soaring the skies, and many more examples of what cruelty and a twisted mind could achieve with a bit of power. Trembling like a little mouse, Arian moved as fast and quietly as she could, feeling her every sense on high alert as she kept getting closer to the bonfires. Her ears could pick the distant battle behind her, and something far more terrifying than the Grimm around her. She could hear the sound of something wet dripping on the floor, the sickening sound of fangs crunching bones, the twitching remains hiding in the shadows; Her nose could pick up the suffocating smell of sweat, tears and spit, all of it combined with the nauseating stench of blood and death; Her eyes could peer through the darkness and watch as the monsters tore apart the bodies of the poor bastards that had either fallen in combat or tried to escape from the bitter end. Her young mind began collapsing on its own as all of this new information was processed... But she couldn't stop running. She was unable to simply lay down on the ground and cry herself to sleep. Her father was still on her mind but it had been a while since she had given up on the idea of finding him.

She simply kept running because she no longer had a place to return to...

And after what felt like days, she finally reached the bonfires and was greeted with the most despairing sight she had seen in her short life: The large bonfires were surrounding by dozens upon dozens of brutalized corpses and puddles of black goo. Arian could also see a few of the Grimm corpses that hadn't disintegrated just yet with a bunch of shattered swords and spears all over their black bodies. A bit to the side, she watched in horror as a bunch of small Nevermore were picking at one of the corpses, screeching and almost laughing with an unnatural glee in their tiny red eyes. Arian glanced at them in horror as she ventured further into the aftermath, stepping in the corpses and slipping from time to time due to the pool of blood and black goo. She did her best to not break down but as she kept inspecting the disfigured bodies, her eyes began filling with tears.

Her father was somewhere in this mess, probably torn to pieces or half eaten by the Grimm...

She yelped at the thought and began running around the battlefield, inspecting every corpse and begging the gods her father wasn't one of them. In her mad dash, she didn't realize the Grimm were now focused on her, attracted by her dread and fears. The creatures followed her quietly as if they were cats playing with the mice. Simply watching and relishing in the delicious despair of the young girl.

But they wouldn't attack... Not yet, at least. The temptation was unbearable but she was not there yet. She needed to keep walking in this world of pain, surrounded by the rotting remains of her brethren, listening to the howling of their damned souls, tasting the same fear the others had experienced, stepping into pools of foul liquid and staining her soul beyond salvation.

Oh, yes... They were certainly going to enjoy ripping apart her soft limbs and bite her tender meat. They would relish in the agonizing screams of her melodious voice. They would watch the light escape her eyes as her whole being was filled with nothing but despair... But not yet. No, she wasn't ready... Not until she had met their mistress...

And as they watch the fragile child fall yet again, the Grimm couldn't help but grin in glee and follow after her like shadows in the middle of the night.

Ignorant to the evil shadows following on her wake, Arian kept walking in this surreal world of pain, inspecting every corpse and becoming more alienated as the time passed. Her soft and pure hands are now covered in dirt, filth, and bruises. Her small shoes were in tatters and even her clothes were stained with the blood. She could feel her muscles screaming in pain and begging for rest but she couldn't stop; Her tortured mind made her move despite her exhaustion.

And as she walked in hell, she saw something that brought a glimmer of hope...

A red cloak dancing in the wind.

...

...

"P-Papa..." She called quietly, her hands trembled as her eyes were filled with tears again "Papa! Papa! Papa! Papa!" She yelled in happiness as she ran towards the tall man with the red cloak. She wasted no time in hugging him and hiding her face in his back "You are alive! You are alive, papa! Oh, thank the heaves you are alive!" She said weeping "The village is destroyed! Everyone is dead, including Miss Brons! She told me the other kids were waiting by the river but I knew I couldn't just leave without finding you! I don't know where mom is but now that we are together we can... We can...!" But as she spoke, Arian could feel something cold extending in her body. Cold chills ran down her spine as an idea began forming in her mind; She lifted her eyes and looked at the concealed face of her father "Father... What is...?" She managed to ask before everything broke apart.

Suddenly, her father glowed with a golden light, and before Arian could say a thing, his body began disintegrating in a pile of dust that was carried by the wind. At the end, only the red cloak remained in her arms. Arian was unable to even move as she stared blankly into the cloak, trying her best to understand what just happened... But the silence held no answers and without knowing it, they began to move around her.

...

...

...

"Well, I certainly wasn't expecting this." Said a soft and cold voice nearby "I believe there were reinforcements coming... But it is clear my forces had completely overestimated the silver-eyed warriors, huh?" Slowly, Arian lifted her eyes to meet a pair of red eyes surrounded by utter darkness and a face of a sickly white that remained her of the mask of the Grimm. "Then again, I was expecting a bit more than this: The prophecies spoke about a legendary race of mighty warriors that would get in my way. So far, I have only found a minor resistance and a poor attempt to resist the inevitable... You humans sure are an amusing race." She said with contempt "But despite your obvious lack of strength, you might be useful before you join your brothers and sisters in the darkness; I heard you mention a group of youngsters hiding by the river... Is that true?" Arian didn't say a thing, she simply stared at the tall woman in disbelief "No talking, huh? Doesn't matter, I will eventually find and deal with each and every single one of you" She turned around and with a quick wave of her hand, a group of shadows appeared at her feet "Find them and remember: No survivors." One of the shadows snickered in evil glee before all of them leaped into the night sky "And as for you, I suppose I could give you a reward for making it here. Not many would have had the fortitude to walk in the middle of this hell, especially a little child like you..." Then, Arian felt a pair of cold hands in her cheeks and she was now looking straight into those red and black eyes. "That man was probably the only 'silver eyes' worth killing personally, he fought bravely until the end so I gifted him a painless dead..." She whispered in Arian's ear with a small grin "And you just won the same fate... Sweet dreams, my child..."

Arian couldn't move or even scream. She was frozen in place, watching as her life began escaping through her eyes... But as she felt herself falling into the abyss, peace washed over her tortured soul as an idea formed in her mind: She was going to see her parents again, they would be together again in the afterlife. The corpses behind her back were not important, the blood beneath her feet was not important, the ashes of her father in her face were not important, Miss Brons' last words were not important, the children at the river were not important... Nothing mattered anymore. Arian was tired and she deserved this sweet relief...

But as her life faded, she had one single thing still bothering her... A small dot of light in the utter darkness. A set of words she couldn't remember... But the longer she thought about it, the stronger it became. Soon, that small dot of light had become a colorless flame; What was the name again? Arian felt as if it was important in some way. But what was it... It had something to do with her home, with her family, with her tribe, with...

With her silver eyes.

Suddenly, the small flame began gaining color as the memories rushed through her mind. She could see it very well: Her friends running as the creatures of darkness chased after them, with their fangs and claws tearing the flesh and spreading the blood of men and women, children and elders. The creatures of Grimm danced and relished in the foul liquid as she watched from afar with a small smile plastered on her pale face; The one that had caused everything, the one that had unleashed the Grimm on her peaceful hometown, the one that had killed her family...

It was her...

Salem.

The flame burst into a maelstrom of crimson light, scorching the shadows and making Arian awake from her slumber. She could feel her hands curling into fists, and her teeth gritting against each other with such strength she almost thought she had shattered them. She opened her eyes and was greeted with those same red and dark eyes but something had changed in them: They no longer held that arrogant and confident malice. Instead, her eyes were filled with confusion, shock... And fear. With newfound energy, Arian grabbed her cold hands and began pushing Salem away as she screamed like a furious beast.

But as her scream reached every single one of the Grimm around her, something else joined her righteous fury. It was a mighty roar that shook the very soil beneath their feet. And then, a pillar of crimson energy shot from the depths of the forest, shining as far and wide as Salem could see. From within the light, something began falling towards them. The projectile crashed right in between Salem and Arian, lifting a thick cloud of dust.

Salem coughed and waved her hand in a vain attempt to clear the dust. She could hear her Grimm squealing and screeching all around her, disrupted by whatever had landed. Tired of the noise and the dust, she waved her hand again and the dust dissipated... But what appeared in front of her made her soul tremble in utter panic.

Silver eyes... Silver eyes shining with an unnatural glow she hadn't seen in her entire life. Standing taller than any human she had met, with his entire and muscular body exuding such powerful aura it almost made her choke. But what scared her the most was his expression: There was no other feeling in his stiffened factions, nothing that could have masqueraded his intentions, there was only this pure and visceral emotion that not even her Grimm could stand.

 **怒**

 **Wrath**

And before Salem could utter anything else, she felt his massive fist collide against her belly. It was a miracle he didn't tear her in half with just that but he managed to send her flying towards her Grimm. One of the Beringels managed to catch her mid-air, the Grimm yelled at the demon before it ran away with its master. The other Grimm simply couldn't move due to the fear and just stayed there, glaring at the man in panic.

Arian wanted to chase after Salem, catch up with her and finish the job. She couldn't explain why but she felt as if she could fight every single one of the Grimm and kill that witch with her own hands. The fire was burning alongside her aura, making her feel small jolts all over her body. She was ready to unleash the fury of her fallen comrades. But then, she felt a hand in her head. She lifted her eyes and saw that the man was staring at her... And now that she could see his face well, she couldn't help but see a resemblance between him and her late father.

 _"I know how you feel,"_ He said in a language she couldn't understand _"You... You let me handle them."_ He told her before he dashed into the battle.

 **つづく...**

 **To be continued...**

* * *

 **Awake and alive.**

The darkness was the only thing he could see around him. His body was surrounded by the immensity of the shadows, never changing, never morphing, never moving. Simply there, sitting still and waiting for something else to set in motion the gears of destiny... But as the ages passed, he began losing his edge and mind. There was nothing else: Him, the darkness... And his brother. He called him 'brother' but he wasn't sure if they were related. Sure, the two of them had the same body-type but his brother was somehow darker than him. He was smaller and looked sick. More than once, he had tried to communicate with him, share their experiences and even plan a way to escape this prison. But just like before, he was unable to move. The two of them were frozen in place, cursed to remain there until he came freed them from their prison.

And after a millennia or so, the day finally came. He tore through the veil of shadows and brought forth a warm and golden light, lighting the way and dispelling the darkness he and his brother had lived in for centuries. With his majesty and power, he infused the both of them with life-giving mantra and allowed them to finally be free from their frozen prison. The brothers moved for the first time in their immortal lives, relishing in the sudden surge of energy and voicing their happiness with laughs. And as they played in this world, he watched over them, he who had created them, he who had created this and the other worlds in the distant galaxies.

His name Chakravartin, the Ruler of the Universe and the father of the Deity brothers.

As they played in this new world, they heard him call for them, telling them to explore this world and made them their own. The brothers were happy to oblige and ran in different directions. The older brother ran towards the eas, following the golden disc in the blue sky while the younger brother ran towards the west, following the silver orb in the night-sky.

He ran as fast and far as he could until he was on a land he had never seen before. He made himself comfortable and laid on the soil, enjoying the rays of the sun and the soft ground beneath his back. But as the time passed, he began feeling something nagging his peaceful nap. It a mortifying feeling he couldn't just ignore or forget. It was slowly sinking into his soul and making him realize the truth.

He was alone.

Alone in this beautiful and wonderful world.

He felt dread washing over his mind as he didn't know how to deal with it, it was his first time after all. But in his desperation, he came surrounded by a golden and powerful light. His father spoke to him and taught him the ways to fill this world with his own creations. He listened to Chakravartin's lesson without missing a beat and after the ruler of the universe was done, he began his great quest. The first thing he created was a small being conformed of plain colors, a being without conscience and the ability to move freely. He called it 'flower'.

His father congratulated his success and left to tend other issues, leaving him to his own devices. With this new power, he kept creating and giving life to many more creatures and finally quenching his loneliness with the bright light of his creations.

Soon, the empty world was finally filled with life. He felt fulfilled and knew everything would be perfect from now on...

At the time, he didn't know how wrong he was...

 **完**


	3. Chapter 3 - The furious God of the North

**Episode 3**

* * *

Across the history of Remnant, there has been one single and undeniable truth: Nobody could defeat the Grimm.

There had been fairytales about warriors mastering the power of Aura and fighting equally against the creatures of Grimm but those tales almost always ended up in sad tragedies where the hero was unable to stop the swarms of Grimm pilling up on him and his comrades. Bards and other storytellers have often been chased away due to these tales but their stories were not far away from reality. Sure, there were some men and women that had successfully defeated the Grimm but these warriors would most likely end up crippled for life or simply dead after the battle was over. It didn't matter how hard they trained or how strong their weapons were, the human body was simply too frail to resist the brutal strength of the Grimm. These warriors would always try to evade and dodge as many attacks as possible but the end was inevitable: With time, they would grow tired while the Grimm would only get stronger with the despair building up in the warrior's mind.

In short; Fighting Grimm was like trying to stop rain with bare hands.

That was what Arian and the rest of humanity believed... That was supposed to be the course of nature.

But right now, those impossible monsters no one could defeat, those nightmares that would destroy entire settlements, those unstoppable shadows born from the darkest side of the world... Were being obliterated by a single man with nothing but his fists and his rage.

The Grimm swarmed the lone man like a black ocean, attempting to bury him with their sheer numbers. But the man simply pushed them away, destroying them with powerful punches and unleashing that explosion of crimson aura at times. She watched as he obliterated Beowolves with apparent ease, overpowered the Beringels in the contest of strength, stopped the deadly Boarbatusk and tore to pieces the huge Ursa as if they were made of wet paper. The battle lasted no longer than mere minutes and by the end of it, the entire area was filled with that disgusting black goo and a few remains of the last Grimm that fell in front of his wrath.

The man remained in the middle of the aftermath, breathing deeply as the crimson aura continued to burn all over his body. Arian watched him carefully, unsure of how to deal with him; He had proved strong enough to obliterate Grimm with little effort and Arian paled imagining what he could do against humans. She was surprised Salem had survived but maybe it had to do with the fact that she wasn't a normal human... Either way, the only thing that mattered was that he was strong and hated the Grimm just like her.

And as she watched him, something else flared inside of her mind...

The children at the river.

Arian could remember a set of ominous shadows obeying Salem's command. Black figures with the shape of humans but the twisted and corrupted mind of the Grimm, it was hard to believe someone was crazy enough to follow that monster but apparently, it was true; And now, they were probably at the river, slaughtering the rest of her village.

She clenched her tiny fist around the Red cloak and cursed... But she didn't curse the Grimm or the witch. No, she cursed herself for being so weak and hopeless. She cursed herself for ignoring the words of Miss Brons; She should have gone to the river first instead of chasing after her father in the middle of this hell. Had she been any smarter or prudent, the other children and she would have been on their way. Away from the Grimm and Salem... And who knows? Maybe this man would have escorted them until they reached the next village. Guilt and regret mixed with her rage made her shed tears again; She was so angry with herself for acting so immature... But then again, she was just that; A child. A stupid child that had somehow found herself in the middle of a war.

Suddenly, she felt a sudden tug on her cloak and she lost her grip on it. She looked up to see the man holding the precious piece of cloth just above her. Arian wanted to complain but her voice remained stuck in her throat; Her father would always talk about responsibility and the necessity to be strong for the village. He used to be a warrior until he met Arian's mother and decided to raise her instead. He was the strongest and bravest man Arian had met in her life... And she had disappointed him by leaving the helpless children on their own.

But then, she felt the cloak falling on her shoulders and she saw the man tying the cloak around her neck. Once he was done, he pulled the hood over her head, stood up and waited for her with his arms crossed over his chest.

Arian looked at him for a long time, studying his features and taking into account every little detail in his anatomy. Just as she had initially thought, he kind of looked like her late father; They both had the same mighty demeanor. But as Arian stared into his eyes, she was able to see the differences between the two of them: His father had fought dozens of battles when he was young... But this man was something else; In his glowing platinum eyes, Arian could see thousands upon thousands of years worth of experience, thousands upon thousands of years worth of bloodshed for his purpose, thousands upon thousands of years worth of suffering as he fought against impossible enemies.

Yes, he was different from his father or any other human Arian had met before... But in her heart, Arian could feel he was the kind of being she wanted to be: A being capable of fighting waves of Grimm with ease, a being capable of preying upon the creatures of darkness, a being capable of hunting the hateful enemies that slaughtered her village and killed her family and friends.

She wanted to be a huntress so she could destroy the creatures of Grimm and the wicked witch of the dark continent.

With new resolution, she cleaned the tears from her face and straightened up. She crossed her arms over her chest and with her brow furrowed like him, she pointed at the general direction where the river was. The man glared at her and then at the place she was pointing at... And to her surprise, he smirked again. He kneeled and gestured to his back, Arian understood and quickly climbed and hugged his neck. The man muttered something she couldn't understand and before she knew it, they were already soaring through the skies again.

Once again, she was greeted with the majestic sight of the shattered moon in the endless celestial vault filled with the stars. The wind was howling furiously against her ears and even though her eyes were drying, she refused to close them. Arian felt adrenaline run through her whole body and couldn't help but scream in excitement, she let go of his neck and raised her hands to the sky, trying to touch it and laughing like the little girl she was... But her happiness didn't last long as she heard a ghastly screech behind them.

She turned around to see a gigantic crow chasing after them.

"Nevermore!" She yelled in panic.

The man looked over his shoulder and once he saw the huge bird, he growled and turned around so he was facing the monster. The Nevermore screeched again and trusted its beak with vicious malice but the man simply swatted it away with ease. The Nevermore grunted in anger and this time attacked with its claws. The man was taken by surprise and was unable to stop the Grimm from trapping them into its claws. But to the Grimm's dismay, the man was able to tear its claws apart and began climbing over its body while the Grimm screeched in agony. While they were climbing, Arian saw the razor-Sharp feathers, capable of piercing any sort of material, being bent and twisted under the armored fingers of the man as he climbed on the back of the Nevermore. The Grimm felt the intruders in his body and made a sharp turn to the left as it spun, making the man grunt by the sudden change in gravity. Arian closed her eyes and gasped as she felt her stomach growl in agony but she managed to resist the urge to barf. The Nevermore then simply dived head first into the floor, but just as they were about to crash, the Grimm corrected its course and ascended as much as it could. But despite this, neither Arian or the man let go; So with a frustrated squawk, the Nevermore shrieked into the sky.

Nothing happened for a second, and then, Arian saw something in the distance: A black cloud was quickly flying their way and as it got closer, Arian was able to see what it was… And what she saw made her pale in fear.

It was a murder of small Nevermore.

But it wasn't like the flocks she had seen before. Those were mostly conformed of a few dozens of the Grimm…

This was had to have, at least, a few hundred, thousands even… And all of those monsters had a single objective in their evil minds:

Killing them.

The Nevermore seemed to sense her worry as it made a series of sounds that resembled a devious chuckle, and it began flying straight into the murder.

The man noticed the dark cloud and since the Nevermore began flying more stable, he got up on his feet and prepared himself: He made sure Arian was holding onto his neck, raised his fist and yelled something, daring the monsters to get closer… And after a few agonizing seconds, the giant Nevermore collided against its flock.

But instead of being torn and eaten alive as Arian had expected, the man was actually repelling every single one of the small creatures with nothing but his fists; None of the thousand small Nevermore managed to touch Arian or him in any shape or form. His fists seemed like lighting as he punched the Grimm, making their bodies explode on contact, and even fending them off by the sheer shockwave his attack produced. At some point, Arian could have sworn he had six arms instead of two.

And he kept fighting; Roaring like a beast and obliterating the Grimm with his fury… But it didn't matter if he could kill hundreds in mere minutes…

Eventually, even the giants fall to the numbers.

The creatures proved smarter than they looked like; They began latching on his arms and slowing him down. And even though they died in the process, they served their purpose. The man began losing momentum as the Nevermore swarmed him, joining together until they formed large and dark chains. The man grunted and attempted to break free from his restraints. Ultimately, he managed to crack the chains by breaking the bodies of the Nevermore with his brutal strength. But as soon as the corpse fell from the chain, another Nevermore replaced its fallen brethren. The man kept struggling and snarling like a caged animal… But he was unable to break free…

And once the Nevermore realized this, they attacked with everything they had.

They began pecking at his body and face, making him grunt in annoyance and wail at them while he roared in anger. But despite their clever way of restraining him, the Nevermore were simply unable to pierce his thick skin. Hell, even his eyes seemed impenetrable… But after a while, it ticked in all of them, as if some darker will was guiding them: Maybe they were unable to kill the demon that had wounded their mistress…

But…

The creature on his back was a different story.

Yes, the soft being that was whimpering and trembling at their sheer number.

Yes, the weak human that could do nothing but hold onto the back of the demon and hope for the best.

Yes, the sweet child of the Silver-eyed warriors.

Yes…

They could kill her…

And as the insects being controlled by the hive-mind, they all changed focus and glared evilly at the little girl with a red cloak…

And they attacked.

In a single second, Arian felt a hundred needles piercing her exposed back and arms. She screamed in pain as she felt the small monsters penetrating her body and drawing her warm blood. Her cries only seemed to excite the Grimm as all of them cackled in evil glee and attacked with more energy. Tears began flooding her eyes as she yelled, her screams were being drowned by the mocking laughs of the Nevermore. She could feel her the strength leaving her body, she could hear them carving holes in her anatomy and tearing apart her flesh, she could hear them relishing in the taste of her blood… She felt weak, her body was cold, her arms were giving up… And she closed her eyes.

For she knew she was dying…

But just as it began, it suddenly stopped.

The whole flock went silent, and the only thing Arian could hear was the howling of the wind and the wings of the Grimm flapping in the air. So with great effort, she opened her eyes: They were still a top of the huge Nevermore with a murder of a few hundred surrounding them… But the Grimm were not attacking anymore; They were just there, flying at a prudent distance with a peculiar glint in their tiny eyes. And then, she heard something shatter. Her eyes went down and what she saw left her in awe; The chains that were restraining the man began glowing with a crimson hue and suddenly disintegrating in a cloud of ashes. And Arian was able to see it; The cracks on the man's skin began glowing with something resembling magma. The substance flowed through his arms until it began filling his entire body. Arian watched the substance closely; And even though her mind screamed not to, she couldn't help but brush her fingers in one of the cracks.

She instantly regretted her actions.

She pulled her hand, hissing as a scalding sensation extended from her fingertips and unto her arm, and finally all over her body. It wasn't painful, but as the sensation spread all over her being, she felt her heart racing; Her limbs began trembling uncontrollably, and she could feel her insides burning. Unable to control herself, she screamed once again…

And let go.

The world suddenly moved in slow-motion as she fell from the back of the man and unto the rough body of the Grimm. She tried to grab onto the feathers but her hands faltered… And just like that, she fell into the abyss.

And as she fell, she could see the cloud of Grimm and the Nevermore flying away from her… She desperately tried to reach the man with her arm, even if it was but a pitiful attempt to save herself. She could still see him a top of the Nevermore, glowing with crimson aura…

And then…

He roared… And he and the Grimm were engulfed in a massive explosion that lit the entirety of the night sky.

Arian widened her eyes in shock as the orb of orange and crimson energy touched and disintegrated the small Grimm. The gigantic Nevermore shrieked in pain as his massive body began burning and being consumed by the energy; It flapped its wings in a desperate attempt to get away from the heat but it proved to be futile. In the end, the orb finally absorbed it and its cries died. The orb kept getting bigger and bigger until it reached its critical mass, exploding and sending a massive shockwave towards Arian's way, hitting her and accelerating her fall. Suddenly, the world returned to its original flow and Arian realized she was speeding up towards the ground. She yelled and wailed but it was useless… She looked at the shattered moon one last time before the darkness finally took her in its gentle yet merciless embrace.

* * *

…

…

…

"Ugh… W-wha…" She grunted as she began opening her eyes. She tried to mover her arms but her entire body screamed in pain "Ah! W-Wha-! I-It hurts!" The pain suddenly came like a wave, making her curl in a ball "W-Why does it hurt?! Why?! Mom! Dad! Please, help me! It hurts so much!" She continued crying and screaming for an hour until the pain finally began subsiding and became an uncomfortable numbness. She gasped for air and without being able to stop herself, she barfed again. After a few seconds, she managed to get up but suddenly, she felt vertigo and had to kneel in order to avoid puking again. And as the minutes passed, her breathing became more stable, the world stopped spinning and she was actually able to make some sense into forms all around her.

For starters, she noticed she was in some sort of small crater. The ground had been clearly caved in by something and she could see some of the trees had sustained damage… The question was; What did it? As she began pondering the options, she began tugging and playing with the tattered red cloak around her neck…

The red cloak…

Yes, her father used to have one like that…

Her father…

…

And then, everything came back; The Grimm, her destroyed village, Miss Brons last moments, her dead father, the aftermath of the battle, Salem… And him, the demon she found in the forest; The demon capable of killing Grimm with nothing but his bare hands, the demon that had saved her, the demon that had…

Her eyes widened as she remembered; That's right! Arian had asked him to help her save the rest of the children and then, they had taken off… But then, a gigantic Nevermore and a murder had attacked them. The man had fought with bravery against the Grimm, but their numbers were simply exorbitant; They managed to restrain him and then they…

They…

Quickly, she began inspecting her body with fear in her eyes. After the man was restrained, the Nevermore attacked her, piercing her skin and digging into her body, damaging her internal organs and even her soul. But as she patted her body, her fear became confusion; Sure her clothes and red cloak were filled with holes but strangely, her body was completely fine. There were no signs of wounds… And now that she was thinking about it, she had fallen from the skies after the man suddenly began to glow. Inspecting the crater again, she realized she had created it when she crashed in the ground…

But… But she was alive and unharmed. What's more, her wounds were healed, as if she was never swarmed by the murder of Nevermore. But how? Any other human would have definitely died during the first attack, why was she alive? She inspected her hands closely, trying to figure out what had happened… And she saw it, a faint surface atop of her skin, humming lightly and shining in some way.

Arian left her mouth wide open when she understood what had happened. After all, every human in Remnant was born with this peculiarity, a force-field produced by their own souls that healed wounds and protected them from damage.

It was her Aura.

As far as she was concerned, only a few handfuls of individuals were actually capable of controlling such powerful trait to its complete extent. Back in the village, the only one Aura user was her father; He used it to boost his strength, speed, and stamina… But even he had never been able to heal wounds with such severity. As far as she knew, the Grimm had, literally, carved her back, pierced her organs, and almost left her hollow. How she managed to survive was a mystery, but she guessed her survival instincts had kicked in and activated her Aura to its maximum capabilities… But then again, she had fallen from the skies and survived… With a lot of pain but survived in the end.

She couldn't help but think that the man had something to do with all of this…

…

The man!

Panicking, she looked at the sky but was unable to see anything aside from the stars and the shattered moon. The last thing she remembered was seeing him and the Grimm being engulfed by that strange energy. For how long had she been unconscious? She really couldn't tell; Her father had taught her to read the time but right now, she couldn't remember.

But right now, that was not important. At the distance, she could smell and hear the water going through its course. The river was close and the rest of her village as well. She knew Salem's shadows must have arrived a while ago but she couldn't cower now; She needed to save the children… After all, they were the only family she had left.

She breathed deeply to calm her nerves, and once her pulse relaxed, she began running through the forest…

Or at least, that was what she intended: Instead, she found herself ramming against a tree and reducing it to splinters. Her momentum was not stopped and she began bouncing on the ground, huffing, and grunting. After a moment, she finally stopped and Arian found herself once again facing the stars and with a lot of pain.

After a second, she began getting up, wincing as she noticed a large, bleeding bruise on her hand. She inspected it but then, something else happened. The wound began glowing faintly and it simply disappeared. Arian flexed her hand, unable to believe her eyes; She couldn't feel any sort of pain at all. The wound had vanished without leaving a scar… So this was the power of Aura. She guessed her sudden burst of speed was the also a result of her Aura.

Arian breathed deeply again and focused. Her father had told her that even though Aura was a powerful weapon, it was useless if there was no control. She closed her eyes and allowed herself to be drowned by the stillness… And then, she felt it; A humming sensation covering her skin, moving with her blood and flexing with her muscles. Every breath she took was accompanied by the same feeling. And after a few tries, she was able to hold it in her hands. She opened her eyes and realized the world wasn't as dark as she remembered, even if it was still night-time, she could discern the forms inside the forest and even beyond. She nodded to herself and dashed towards the river once again.

She was still going incredibly fast but now, she was able to maneuver through the trees with ease. Arian couldn't help but smile…

If only her father could see her.

After a few seconds, she was finally at the river. The waters reflected the glow of the moon, creating a beautiful spectacle of dancing lights of greenish and blue colors. Arian stopped to admire the lights a little; Even after all the madness, it was nice to see something reassuring and gorgeous.

"A-Ari-Arian…?" Called a gurgling voice. Arian widened her eyes in froze in place, she recognized that voice "Arian…! Ple-Please…! Help… Help me!" Out of her daze, she began looking around, trying to find where the voice came from, and then… She saw it.

It was a girl she knew… She was resting at the foot of a tall tree, with her once beautiful clothes tattered and a huge gash in her chest. Her silver eyes were flooded with tears and her mouth with blood. The girl lifted her trembling arm, and pleaded to Arian "Arian…! It hurts…! It hurts so much…! Please…!"

"Vega!? Oh, Vega!" Arian said, reaching for the girl and pulling her into a tight hug "It's gonna be okay! Just… Just stay with me, okay?!"

"I… I want my mom… Where is my mom?! Where is my dad?! Where are they?! Arian! It hurts! Please! Make it stop!" Vega said as she coughed blood on the floor.

Arian was at a loss for words but she couldn't remain shocked for so long. She hated herself for admitting it but there was nothing she could do for the girl in front of her, but there was still hope for the others. "Vega, I need you to calm yourself and listen to my words: Where are the others?"

"They… They came from the shadows… Like Grimm! They… They couldn't be human… Corman tried to stop them… But the monsters simply destroyed him, brutalized his body and threw him into the river… Arian… Arian, I can't…!"

"Please, Vega; Where are the others?! I need to save them!" Arian cursed herself for doing this, but there was no other way.

The girl tried to speak but only blood came from her mouth. She gasped for air and desperately grabbed Arian, opening and closing her mouth, clinging to life… But in the end, it was too late. Arian watched as the silver eyes of such cheerful girl dulled, her body stiffened, and with a last breath, life escaped her body.

Arian couldn't tell what was going on anymore; She had held the dying body of Miss Brons but this was different: The old lady had showered with hope… But Vega… The girl only exuded desperation, fear, panic, regret, shock.

Last time, Arian's world shattered in a spiral of pain and suffering, but this time was different; She was trembling… But there was something else filling her soul. There were tears, but these were not filled with sadness. Instead of crying, she was gritting her teeth as the fire burned like molten magma inside her heart.

She wanted to scream, scream until her voice was gone, scream until every living thing in the area heard her, scream until they came for her…

Scream…

No, she wanted to roar until she had killed them all.

Arian remained there where she was; Kneeling in front of the corpse and trying her best to contain the alien fury inside her heart. She knew her negativity was going to attract every nearby Grimm but she couldn't care less. In fact, she wanted them to come for her.

And in the middle of the night, she heard something that made her soul tremble and her fury froze: Another scream filled with pain and desperation.

She widened her eyes and realized she didn't have time to waste. There were other children in the darkness, being chased by the wicked shadows of that witch, and the rest of the Grimm. She looked at the corpse once again, Vega still had her eyes and her mouth wide open in a grimace of utter hopelessness… Arian gritted her teeth and did the only thing she could for her dear friend: She closed her eyes and her mouth, cleaned the wound as much as she could, and left her hands to rest over her chest. It looked as if Vega was sleeping… But she wasn't…

Aria offered a short prayer for Vega before she dashed into the night.

Even if she didn't know how to, Arian was pumping her body with her newfound Aura, boosting her physical abilities and her processing power, making her capable of moving at a high speed without crashing into anything. She kept running until she noticed something on the ground; She halted her run and knelt to inspect the familiar liquid on the soil.

Fresh blood.

She bit her lip and followed the trail, this time moving slowly and q uietly. If Vega was telling the truth, she was fighting something even more sinister than the creatures of darkness; After all, Grimm weren't that smart: Ancient Grimm may have reached some sort of pseudo conscience and were capable of recognizing patterns. The more experience they had, the stronger they were. But in the end, Grimm were still soulless and brainless animals; They followed their endless hunger and their unrelenting thirst for human suffering…That's what made them dangerous, but predictable.

Evil humans were different… And in some way, they were far more dangerous than Grimm.

She followed the trail until she ended up deep in the forest. Around her, Arian could hear rustling, low growls, and even perceive red eyes in the shadows. She wasn't sure why the Grimm weren't attacking but she had no time to worry. If Vega had ended in that state, she feared to think what the others were currently facing.

She reached some sort of clearing with a huge rock in the middle. The trail ended there but there was no one; Maybe they moved somewhere else and abandoned the corpses nearby but then again, there were no signs of the bodies anywhere. Had the Grimm eaten them? Unlikely, they did attack humans but it was never out of hunger. They simply played with their victims and after the unfortunate had died, the Grimm would lose interest and abandon the corpses… Like children forgetting about their broken toys.

Then, where were they?

She heard a rustling to her left and turned with her fists ready. But instead of meeting the evil red of the Grimm, she was greeted with the same silver of her own eyes…

Silver filled with fear.

"A-Arian…?" Called a tall boy with tattered clothes and a huge bruise on his right eye.

"You… You are Jun!" Arian exclaimed in surprise "You are alive!" She said in happiness, rushing to hug the boy.

"Arian! No! Get away from he-" He tried to say, but it was already too late

"Ho! It seems like we forgot a little toddler behind?!" Said a malefic voice behind her. Arian widened her eyes and turned around just to receive a massive fist in her face. She was sent flying and crashed into a tree, breaking it and falling to the ground "Phew! She sure flew a lot!" The moon shone over the clearing and revealed the form of a tall man with red hair and yellow eyes. He was wearing a leather jacket with black pants and iron boots "Man! Mistress Salem should give us more assignments like this one! Ain't that right, big sis Miflore?"

"Tarbos, you little… That was my kill!" A woman with golden hair and green eyes said, appearing behind Tarbos. She was wearing some sort of purple jumpsuit with several pieces of armor; She was also holding a long spear in her right hand "Don't go ahead on your own and steal prey from the others! We have already split up the spoils, so you better keep your dirty hands from my share!"

"Arian!" Jun yelled in horror and tried to reach the fallen girl but was stopped by the woman; She hit him with the blunt side of her spear and made him kneel in pain "N-No! I need… I need to save her!" He screamed as a small trail of blood began forming on his forehead.

"Shut up, maggot!" Miflore ordered, stepping on the boy "Here I am, trying to be nice and giving you a chance to stay alive for a little bit more… And this is how you repay me! By running away! Huh?!" The woman growled, stabbing his back with her heel and making him scream even louder.

"Come on, sis; You don't have to be that angry… He brought us a treat!" Tarbos exclaimed, happily skipping to Arian and lifting her off the ground "See: Without him, this little rat would have escaped! We owe that puppy a big one!" He mocked with a snort.

"I suppose he did… Very well! I shall reward him by killing him last!" The woman declared, picking Jun's leg and dragging him towards the forest "Bring that rat as well! We must hurry!" She said and both of them entered the forest.

While they were walking, Jun did the impossible to break free. He wailed, screamed, and even attempted to kick Miflore so he could check on Arian. But his efforts were useless. In the end, the woman simply ignored the child while Tarbos laughed and mocked him cruelly. Jun watched as the man flailed the girl around him as if she was a sack of potatoes. He watched him smash her in some trees and sarcastically apologize. The duo continued until they reached another clearing.

"Hey, maggots! Daddy is home! And I have brought a new friend for all of you!" Tarbos roared as he threw Arian forward, earning hushed screams from the shadows "Come on! Don't be shy! I am sure you all have been waiting for her!" Slowly, more than twenty children stepped into the light: All of them displayed gruesome traces of abuse and violence, some were even missing their eyes, and some others couldn't even walk and were carried by the others. All of them left a whimper as they recognized the girl in front of her "Oh! I'm so sorry! I may or may not have broken her on the way here…" He said with faux remorse "But hey! You all will join her in a while!" He added with a devious grin.

"You bastard!" Jun yelled with tears in his eyes "How could you do that to her?! You are a monster!"

"Ho, it seems like we have a brave one here…" Tarbos mumbled, kneeling in front of Jun and looking directly into his eyes "Maybe it is about damn time someone showed you how to respect your elders." He said, grabbing his head and slowly crushing it.

But before he could kill Jun, Miflore swung his spear and almost decapitated Tarbos. He managed to dodge to the side "I told you to stay away from my prey" She growled in anger.

"You, crazy bitch! You could have killed me! I am your ally!" Tarbos screamed in disbelief.

"Believe me, nothing would please me more than seeing your dead and rotting body on the floor… Sadly, I can see you are a bit agiler than I thought."

"I am going to kill you… I am definitely going to kill you…" Tarbos mumbled, cracking his knuckles and glaring at Miflore "I will make you squeal like a pig as I crush that stupid mouth of yours!"

"Try me, little boy!" Miflore taunted, readying her spear. Tarbos roared and launched himself towards the woman…

But…

"Enough"

Suddenly, the earth beneath the two of them split in half, making both hop away in surprise. The fissure kept growing until there was an abyss between the two. Tarbos and Milflore stared at each other before they looked ahead. At the origin of the fissure, there was a huge man, completely cladded in dark armor with a great longsword in his left hand. He was wearing a helmet resembling the mask of a Grimm. The only human-ish feature in his whole appearance was his crimson eyes, shining through the lids of his helmet

"I would like to know what are you two doing?" He said with a dangerously calm tone.

"L-Lord Boreas! We… We were just…" Miflore tried to explain.

"Zip it, old man! It's none of your business!" Tarbos answered for her rudely, earning a scornful glare from the woman.

"It is my business if you get in the way of Mistress Salem's great plan; You should be executing the rest of the children, not fighting among yourselves." He said with a hint of annoyance in his voice. The children that had been quiet until now shivered in silence "Stop wasting our time and move. We must not allow a single silver eyes to escape and reproduce; Their seeds will surely bring our downfall, and I will not pass down in history as the one who failed our mistress."

"Some big words for a tired old man," Tarbos said, approaching Boreas while he cracked his neck "I am tired of your arrogance, Boreas. Maybe it is about damn time someone took the lead from under your senile fingers."

"And who is going to achieve such feat, huh?" Boreas retorted, looking down on Tarbos "You may be younger than me… But I am more powerful than you could imagine, brat" He put a thick emphasis on the last word, making Tarbos shiver in fury. The two men kept glaring at each other while Miflore was in between them, desperate to defuse the situation.

But then, they heard a groan next to them. The three turned around and watched with wide eyes as the girl Tarbos had supposedly killed began getting up, massaging her head. The other children gasped in fright and backed away.

"T-That's impossible!" Tarbos stuttered "I am sure I cracked her frigging skull! Why is she alive?!"

"Arian! Arian, are you alright?!" Jun began screaming but was silenced when Miflore stepped on his head.

"Shut up, you little rat!" She hissed in anger.

"We must approach her carefully" Boreas suggested "We don't know if her powers have been awakened… For now, let's observe her and wait for the right moment to-"

"Too slow, Old man!" Tarbos roared, dashing towards Arian.

The girl was just about to regain her senses when a massive fist crashed into her belly, making her lose her breath and almost faint again. She tried to hunch as a reflex but met a knee to her face instead. The blow was strong enough to lift her from the ground a few inches where her face was smashed yet again. This time, she crashed to the ground and moved no more.

"Arian, no!" Jun cried helplessly with a stream of tears running down his cheeks. The children hiding in the shadows wept in silence and trembled uncontrollably.

"How you liked that now, huh?!" Tarbos panted with a devious grin filled with sadistic glee "You know what? Perhaps we should let them awake their powers! It is more fun beating them like this than completely annihilated them! Alright, mongrels! Which one of you wants to-" But the rest died in his throat as he widened his eyes, and his smile became a grimace of shock and disbelief.

The little girl that had been beaten to death… Got up again.

"That's… That's not possible…" Boreas began slowly "There is no way a normal human being could have endured that sort of punishment. Her Aura should have been shattered… That's simply impossible…" By his side, Miflore didn't realize she had stopped stepping on Jun. But the boy was unable to move as he watched Arian limp with his mouth wide open "We must… We must inform Lady Salem at once… We must-"

"Fucking Bitch! Why won't you DIE?!" Tarbos growled again. He stomped towards Arian and his huge hand closed on the small throat of the girl "Die already you freak! Die! Die! DIE! DIE! DIE! DIE!" He roared as he tried to crush Arian's neck…

But it was impossible…

No matter how hard he tried, the neck of the girl would not budge under the strength of the man… And on that moment, his fury became desperation; His nefarious thought became wary; His villainous plans became powerful insecurities…

He, who had crushed mountains, burned entire forests, exterminated entire villages, slaughtered hundreds of Faunus, tamed impossible Grimm…

He…

He was…

He was just…

…

 _He was unable to kill a single and weak girl…_

Those words resonated in his mind and finally crumbled his pride. All of a sudden, he was unable to think properly. He was unable to breathe, to see, to smell, to hear, to feel… He was left in a bottomless pit with nothing else but him…

 _And her silver eyes._

Then, he began laughing… But not like the serial killer and mass murderer he was. No, his was the laughter of a broken man, lost in the desperation and powerlessness…

He had finally lost it.

As he laughed like a madman, he began smashing the girl on the trees again. But these simply shattered under her frail body, as if she was made of iron. Then, he brought her down and tried to strangle her again, with no results… But as he watched her, he noticed her eyes again…

Her pretty silver eyes…

Her sparkly silver eyes…

Her beautiful silver eyes…

Her eyes filled with fear, shock, fright, surprise, confusion…

And pity.

She was feeling pity for him.

…

…

He didn't like those eyes…

It remained him of the time before he met Lady Salem…

His weak, shameful, hateful, and pitiful younger self… And how the others looked at him with the same eyes…

"Stop… Don't look at me like that… Stop…" He mused as he let go of her neck and his hands began getting closer to her eyes "I am not weak… I am not hopeless… I am strong… So don't look at me like… Never… Never look at me like that…" He said as his fingers an inch away from her eyes. "Never again… You hear me! Never again!" He finally snapped with a deviant smile.

Arian felt his finger pressing… But despite this, she couldn't feel a thing. She wasn't sure why he couldn't harm her but she figured it had to do with her aura. Though, she had never heard of things like this happening.

And for now, she was more concerned with the way he was acting like a deranged beast, lost in his madness and anger. He kept smiling like a complete psychopath as he tried to crush her neck… With no results. She didn't know if she should try to push him away or voice her worries… This was certainly new for her.

But a soon as she opened her mouth, the man suddenly widened his eyes and hopped away. He stayed at a fair distance from her with his eyes wide open in shock and confusion. The other adults had the same expression, with the woman hiding behind the armored man. Sitting up, Arian slowly turned around…

And she saw it…

It was the same man she found in the forest.

The man that had protected her.

The man that had helped her.

The man that had fought against the Grimm.

The demon capable of scaring away the creatures of darkness.

The monster that had defeated the black witch.

The only hope for the silver-eyed tribe.

He came from within the shadows. His platinum eyes shining with his white and spiky hair; A crimson aura bathing his entire body as the cracks in his skin glowed like small rivers of boiling hot magma. And in his tattered yet golden gauntlets was something neither of presents believed possible. Something close to delusions and complete insanity…

He was carrying the head of a huge Nevermore.

The Grimm still had its beak wide open a somehow grimace of utter fright and desperation. The stump where the neck should have been displayed signs of utter violence and savagery as if someone or something had torn it apart while the Nevermore was still alive and wailing for its life. The corpse was slowly decaying in his fingers… But as Arian watched it rot away, she realized something…

So far, her interactions with the man consisted of him being either annoyed, angry, or pissed…

But now, his face showed absolutely no emotion. He was simply there, glaring at the three adults with his brow furrowed and his mouth tightly shut.

And on that moment, Arian knew…

He was furious.

"W-Who the hell are you?!" Tarbos spoke with a shaky voice "This is none of your concern! Get away from here before I murder you!" The man said nothing and simply kept glaring at him "W-What are you looking at?! I said-" But before he could finish, the man threw the Nevermore's head to the side and began to slowly walk towards him "Are you deaf or what?! I told you to leave!" The man ignored his treats and kept walking until he was right in front of him "If that's how you want to play, I will be sure to skewer you like a pig! Prepare yourself, you as-!" But before Tarbos could finish, the man slapped him in the face.

Now, after the tonight's events, Arian had grown accustomed to brutal examples of gore and cruelty. It was no mystery that Grimm were somewhat intelligent and always found clever ways to slaughter humans. Some of the survivors of such attacks narrate how the Grimm seemed to enjoy the carnage with deviant glee.

But even after all the blood, all the broken bones, the helpless screams, the empty eyes, the endless pain…

Even after all of that… Arian Rose would never be able to forget this moment for her entire life.

After all, necks were not supposed to turn that angle.

The face of Tarbos still held the same crazed and confused grimace, with his mouth wide open in a silent scream of surprise, and his eyes completely peeled in confusion… But with his entire face turned in a one-hundred eighty degree. The body remained standing for a few seconds before it collapsed, with his chest resting on the ground. The last thing Tarbos saw was the beautiful shattered moon before he left this world without even realizing what had killed him.

For a few seconds, no sound was made.

The children were simply too shocked to even weep or scream in fright. They were just there, staring at the corpse as if they couldn't believe their eyes. Internally debating if the man had come to save them or outright kill them all. Sure, he had stopped that evil man, but the brutality he displayed was bad news. They had learned to stay away from those who killed.

Arian was a different story. She was still feeling the boiling lava in her veins and was in no shape of thinking… But despite this, she knew there was no reason to fear the man.

Even if he had just killed a human being with nothing but a single slap.

Boreas was carefully assessing the situation while his hands gripped the handle of his broadsword tightly, so no one would notice them trembling in fear. Across his long life, the Faunus disguised as a human had seen many acts of utter violence; Serving Salem came with many risks and he was well aware of them when he became her minion. Boreas knew the witch had seen the future and knew what needed to be done in order to conquer and rule Remnant. The four children of the seasons had yet to be born, and the annoying puppet of the gods was hiding, licking his wounds and plotting with his allies, so getting rid of the annoying children of Argent was the first step…

Salem had seen everything…

She had prepared for every eventuality…

Every scene…

But this…

This was not in her visions.

The story she had told him and the rest of her minions ended with every single Silver-eyed warrior dead and rotting in the depths of the forest…

So why were they dying instead?

As he debated over this and many more questions, the man turned and glared at him and Miflore. His murderous intentions clear in his platinum eyes and the flames of his fury burning even the air around him. After glaring at the adults, he began to slowly walk towards them. Boreas tried to move but he was glued to the ground, he could no longer hide his shaking hands, and his armor was constantly clacking from his uncontrollable shivers.

The woman was different.

She couldn't still process the way his comrade had died. After all, Salem had trained her and Tarbos in the arts of Aura; She knew for a fact that Tarbos' aura could very well endure a volcano's eruptions… But that demon had killed him as if Tarbos had been nothing but a fly… And if Tarbos had died easily…

She would be no different.

Once this truth was revealed, her mind snapped; She screeched like a wounded banshee and bathed her spear with red, blue, and yellow lighting. She groaned as her Semblance began consuming every single reserve of her Aura; Hers was a double-edged sword that could destroy mountains and separate seas, but it could very well end in her demise… But at this point, she was too scared to even care. Miflore no longer cared about Salem and her dream, she didn't care about the riches she was promised, all the power she could gain, all the lands she would rule… Miflore just wanted to kill the monster in front of her.

Once she felt the peak in her Semblance, she dashed towards the man with a terrifying roar, her spear destroying everything it touched, reducing it to nothing but ashes and smoke. But despite this, the man remained unfazed.

Miflore finally reached the man and with a desperate battle cry, she trusted her spear with everything she had; The tip of the empowered spear connected with the skin of the man, creating a menacing spectacle of light, sparks, and fire. Around them, the children had hidden behind the trees and were held to these for dear life as the waves of energy were powerful enough to send them flying into the skies. Boreas had to unshed his sword and bury it in the soil, he was gritting his teeth as he tried to resist.

The only one that seemed completely unaware of the terrible cataclysm was Arian, who was currently shielding Jun with her body. The boy was screaming something as he hid beneath the red cloak… But the girl remained immovable, watching the back of the demon with her silver eyes, as a crimson Aura began exuding from her body.

Miflore screamed again, thrusting her spear with even more power. She had to kill the monster, she had to finish him before it was too late, she had to…

But before she could finish her train of thoughts, her spear snapped in half.

Silence reigned as the sparks and lighting disappeared instantly. Miflore was left flabbergasted, looking at her broken spear while she mumbled. But then, she felt her throat being crushed; She was lifted from the ground and her vision was filled with pure platinum. She widened her eyes and tried to scream but was unable to do so. The man glared at her for a while before he tossed her to the side. Her back collided with a thick tree and the forest was suddenly filled with the sickening sound of her spinal column being torn into pieces and a thousand of splinters piercing her lungs and other internal organs.

The corpse fell to the ground with its back completely destroyed. It kept twitching until it finally stopped after a while.

Now, with his two comrades dead, Boreas was left alone with the monster, his platinum eyes piercing his own and scorching his very soul. Even after Miflore had unleashed her trump card, the demon seemed completely unharmed… What's more, it seemed like he hadn't noticed anything at all.

Boreas trembled in fear… But he knew he couldn't escape. The monster seemed rather protective of the children of Argent and he was not going to forgive Salem's sins. And as an official general of her army, he was going to pay the full price on her behalf. He smiled and held his sword high over his head; If he was going to die here, he was going to make sure the monster regretted ever meeting him.

He brought down his sword; A gift from his mistress, an old relic capable of smiting down the gods, a terrible artifact that was foretold to break Remnant itself. Even if he died here, the demon surely would-

But the man simply grabbed the sword with a single hand and crushed it with apparent ease.

…

…

"Eh?" Was all Boreas could utter before a huge hand grabbed his entire face and began crushing it like a watermelon.

In the end, the body fell to the ground, with a bloody stump where his head should have been.

And just like that, Salem's strongest assassins were killed in a single night.

* * *

Asura clicked his tongue in disgust as he tried to get rid of the foul liquid on his hand. Even if the black creatures had been a complete disappointment, he had, at least, expected for the humans to display some resistance against him. He had thought that since they had to fight against the black plague on a daily basis, they had developed some sort of amazing skills or whatever… Then again, he had killed the God of the Universe so these results were expected… But that didn't stop him from feeling unsatisfied.

After he had gotten rid of most of the blood, he turned around to see the children. As he did this, all of them yelped and hid in the shadows again. He groaned in annoyance, knowing they were probably scared of him. He had tried to get rid of the murderers as quickly as possible in order to spare the toddlers from danger but his plan had backfired completely. The children now feared him more than the assassins or the black creatures…

Wonderful.

He sighed and cursed his reckless stupidity. Now, all he could do was stay at a fair distance and watch over the kids until someone else found them… Then again, their entire village had been burned to the ground and as far as he was concerned, all the parents were killed.

He could always wait for the children to move on their own; He would follow them and destroy any danger on their path until they found another city or something like that. But that would prove somehow hard; He had indeed killed a great deal of the disgusting creatures in the way but it seemed like these monsters and the Ghoma had more similarities than he had expected: There were simply too many of them.

He sighed again and simply sat cross-legged, with his back facing the children. Asura was a Demi-god so even if he didn't like it, he could wait as many days as needed. Even a few years were nothing but a blink for someone like him so he figured he might as well use that free time to finally relax for a bit.

But then, he heard ushered whispers behind him. It seemed like the children were discussing something among themselves. But suddenly, those whispers became panicked and there was a nervous rustle.

And then, he felt a soft hand in his shoulders. He turned around and saw the same Mithra-look-alike from before; Her red cloak and her clothes were tattered and that left a guilty taste in his mouth. He still didn't know how she survived but if he had been more careful, she wouldn't have suffered like that. He gritted his teeth, remembering just how those bastards abused and wounded her frail and small body… It remained him of just how much he had hated the Seven Deities for what they did to his daughter.

But once again, the girl did something he wasn't expecting; She laid on the ground and rested her head on one of his legs. He was left flabbergasted, unable to react at this. He tried to shake the girl but once she covered herself with the red cloak, she began snoring peacefully. As he was trying to figure out what to do, he heard another rustling and saw that the children began surrounding him. They trembled a bit when he glared at them but after a few moments of uncomfortable fidgeting, they simply laid down all around him, snuggling as much as they could with each other, and falling in a nervous slumber. He noticed a peculiar boy that glanced at him nervously, the boy seemed to ponder over something but after a while, he nodded with determination and copied the girl; He rested his head on Asura's leg and fell asleep almost instantaneously.

Suddenly, the forest was filled with quiet snoring as the last twenty children of Ardent rested by the watchful eye of the Demi-God of Wrath. Several Grimm tried to approach the innocent infants but a single glare from the former heavenly general was enough to make them back away in fear. As the children enjoyed a surprisingly dreamless sleep, Asura could only stare at the moon while he began to unconsciously caress the girl with the red cloak. Many things had suddenly changed and even though he still didn't know what to do, he had to admit…

This wasn't that bad…

"This is fine; I suppose…" He muttered quietly in the night with a small grin on his face.

 **つづく...**

 **To be continued...**

* * *

 **The furious God of the North.**

"Why… Why did this happen?!" The older brother wept over the scorched remains of a deer. "Why are they dying?! Why are they suffering?! These are beautiful creatures… Who could have done such terrible thing?!" He screamed to the sky.

It had been a few weeks since he had been born and after that, he had gone across the entire empty world. He had visited every single nook and cranny and after a while, he began filling it with several creatures from his imagination.

His creations were beautiful examples of what a kind and bright soul could do; Cheerful and friendly animals that coexisted with each other in harmony. He had also created several environments so his creations could play as much as they wanted, he fertilized the earth so tall trees with delicious treats nourished his new friends and family.

It had been perfect for weeks…

Until they began dying.

The older brother would leave at night and return with the dawn, only to find his paradise plunged and completely slaughtered. His animals would lay on the ground, with puddles of blood and nothing but fear in their eyes. His trees and flowers were now scorched mounds of ashes. Even his rivers and ponds would be poisoned with foul essences and corrupting energies… The older brother had suffered indeed, even when his heart was broken, he was always able to heal the earth and repopulate the entire world in a single day…

But no matter how hard he tried, in the next morning, everything would be destroyed again.

This continued for a month until something else walked through his lands. Dark creatures filled with nothing but negativity, examples of evil mockery that slaughtered his own creations. These black creatures would not rest and they were never satisfied. They killed everything they saw…

They were unstoppable.

With his eyes filled with tears, the older brother asked his father for help. The golden god told the older brother that he had committed a mistake with his creations, that he had failed and these were the consequences… But the older brother was no fool; He knew that whatever was killing his paradise existed in the night. So disobeying his father's orders of forever staying with the sun, the older brother walked for the first time in the darkness.

As he had expected he was unable to see anything, his vision was clouded with the shadows. With his vision clouded, it felt as if his other senses had been magnified; Feeling, hearing, smelling, and even tasting every little thing around him.

It was a frightening sensation. He began running like a madman, begging for help and promising his father to never disobey him again… And just when he thought there was no hope, he saw a flickering light at the distance.

Relief washed over his tortured when he had finally found the sun. He ran towards the light, hoping to see his bellowed creation again.

But instead, he found his brother as he walked in hell.

The younger brother had a twisted smile on his face while his fire was eating the older brother's creations. Behind him, the hideous creatures of darkness cackled with evil glee.

At that point, everything froze for the older brother.

Everything he loved and cherished… Was being destroyed by none other than his own little brother.

And inside his heart, the older brother felt something else explode. Something began burning all the positive thoughts he had… His hands balled into fists and he gritted his teeth. There was nothing but utter fury and hatred.

He wanted to kill him, crush him like he had crushed his precious creations, make him feel the same pain all his animals felt…

But…

"Isn't it beautiful, son?" Called a voice behind the younger brother.

"It truly is, father. These disgusting things sure show some pretty colors when they burn."

"That's right, boy. Destroy them, kill them, murder them, slaughter them, rid this world of their existence and paint everything with the darkness of the shadows."

"I will father… But no matter how much I try, they always return. They are stubborn… Maybe… Maybe something happens during the day… Maybe I should step into the light and-"

"No, my boy. You must remain in the shadows. You must remain in the darkness. You must never meet the sun."

"I will obey, father…"

…

…

What?

That, that simply couldn't be… Both of them were brothers. Both of them had the same father… But then… But then their father was…

And then, the older brother saw it. From within the shadows, a tall and lanky abomination appeared. Its body was grey and black, with bloody red eyes. The monster stood by the younger brother and whispered into his ear.

"That's right, my child. You must always obey me. You must always do as I say… For I am the God, and this world will do as I say."

On that moment, the older realized what they were…

Puppets.

Simple puppets in the sick game of their father.

Puppets destined to never be free and always obey…

Puppets…

And nothing more.

 **完**


	4. Once a father, always a father

**Episode 4**

* * *

The singing of the birds slowly awoke her from her slumber. She groaned softly and rubbed her tired eyes, yawning and stretching her sore limbs. She finally opened her eyes and looked around her; There were twenty children sleeping around her, huddle together in small groups and snoring peacefully. Some of them seemed to be struggling with nightmares and some others mumbled in their sleep. Arian bit her lip as she did the math inside her mind: Twenty children survived. Out of thirty-five, only twenty children escaped hell. That means fifteen boys and girls lost their lives because Arian took so long to reach and save them... Fifteen friends she failed to protect and died screaming. She gritted her teeth and began feeling her eyes mist with tears but then, she felt a rough hand rustling her hair.

She lifted her eyes and met pure platinum, shining like the stars in the skies.

The demon she found in the forest was sitting at the center of the children, with Jun sleeping peacefully on his other knee. The man kept patting her awkwardly as if he didn't know what to do, it was somewhat fun to see a man capable of tearing apart the Grimm with ease struggle in front of a crying girl. It made her chuckle slightly, which caused the man to groan in annoyance... Although he didn't seem that displeased.

Slowly, the children began waking up from their sleep, rubbing their eyes and yawning. But then, they noticed the man and backed away in fear. The man frowned and clicked his tongue. It looked like he wanted to leave but he was unable because Jun was still snoring on his knee. And after a few more agonizing minutes, Jun finally woke up: He awoke as he always did, mumbling a bunch of nonsense and with a line of drool coming from his mouth. He looked around with his mouth wide open before he noticed Arian and the other kids looking at him with concern. He then noticed the man glaring at him and hoped away as he screamed. The man rolled his eyes and got up, his imposing height making the children feel like ants. He stared at the children before he slowly began backing away; Once he was at a decent distance, he turned around, sat down, and waited.

...

...

"So... What do we do now?" Jun was the first one to speak. The other children mumbled among each other but no one dared to speak. After yesterday's events, all of them had become orphans and homeless. Some of them had even witnessed the demise of their parents while some others had heard them scream in desperation as they ran away from the village.

One thing was for certain: All of them were afraid...

"We need to move..." Howrang, the eldest child, spoke "Even if we think about it, staying put is the worst option: The Grimm might still be looking for us and what's worse, I think those assassins from yesterday may not be the last ones. We must get away from here and look for the closest neighboring village..."

"And do you know how far is that?" Grace, another of the survivors, asked "Last time I saw the map, the next village was pretty far away. We basically lived completely isolated from the rest of the world; With the natural protection of the mountains and the low population of Grimm, we never really bothered to form alliances with the others. Sure, a few merchants or so came every now and then... But aside from them, nobody knows about us. And if we die here, the horrors we had seen will be buried alongside our corpses." This last comment made the rest of the children feel relentless

"W-We shouldn't be pessimistic!" Jun intervened quickly "We haven't seen any Grimm since yesterday... So we should be fine for n-"

"Fine?! You call THIS being fine?! Are you stupid or what?!" Grace yelled, causing Jun to flinch "What happened yesterday was no normal Grimm activity... Our village was attacked by an unknown enemy that had prior knowledge of our defenses and warriors! I saw how my father and the rest of the opposition were easily annihilated by those stupid creatures! They attacked us, strategically separating us kids from the adults! And after our parents were dead, they sent human assassins to slaughter us! They killed Vega and the others as if they were nothing but bugs! What makes you think they are not still out there, spying on us and plotting the next raid, huh?! Those Grimm did not attack us by chance... Someone or something deliberately created that army with the sole purpose of completely exterminating us!" Her words resonated in the silence as none of the children dared to speak "We were lucky we survived but nothing guarantees we will remain alive for long..."

"There is..." Arian muttered, catching the attention of the children "We have one last choice..." She said, looking at the man sitting away from them.

"And what could that possibly be-" Grace began, following Arian's eyes and widening her own once she realized her intentions "Y-You have to be kidding me?! How can you even think of using that monster?! He basically slaughtered three powerful assassins and a bunch of Grimm! What makes you think we will be safer with something like that?!"

"You said it yourself: He killed the assassins and the Grimm. He can protect us, we just need to... Well, convince him to do so." Arian answered, causing Grace to look away in disbelief.

"Arian... While I am grateful to him for saving us, I will have to agree with Grace on this one." Howrang spoke "He might have saved us but as far as I am concerned, he is more dangerous than the Grimm or whatever planned the attack... We should get away from him as soon as possible."

"And what is the alternative, huh? Going on our own and get killed by the Grimm or bandits?" Arian asked harshly, making Howrang wince "You are not an idiot, Howrang; You know very well we will not survive on our own. As Grace said, something planned the attack... I have seen her; A black witch that goes by the name of Salem. I saw her commanding the horde of Grimm and ordering the assassins. She is the reason why we are in this situation... And that 'Monster', as Grace called it, saved me and even dealt with her. Sadly, I don't think this will be the last time we see her." Arian paused and eyed the children, waiting for them to process her words "We are nothing but brats; We know nothing but a bit of farming, and some house chores. None of us is a warrior and what's more, I am pretty sure I am the only one who can use Aura..." This last statement caused surprise to the children "We have everything against us and the only way to survive is to be protected by someone stronger... In other words, him" Arian finished, pointing at the man. The children remained quiet, exchanging nervous glances. Arian sighed and decided to change her approach "Alright, let's just say I agree with Howrang and Grace; We still need him to at least escort us to the nearest village. After that, we can bid him goodbye... How's that?"

The children looked among themselves worriedly; True, they were scared of the man that had saved them but in the end, Arian was right: Alone, they were easy prey and even some midget beowolf could easily slaughter them. Unseen enemies had plotted against their well-being and they still didn't know the reason behind the attack. Surely, they wouldn't just give up for a bunch of brats that managed to survive...

Things were not looking good.

"I suppose there is no other choice..." Howrang finally relented with a sigh "What do we do, Arian?"

"Well... I..." She said, looking rather concerned over her next words "Look, I know we need to move and get away from here but... There are some things we need..." The kids looked at her in confusion "You know: Supplies like food and water, clothes better fit for a journey and, well..." But as she began speaking, Grace's face was filled with horror.

"You can't be serious..."

"Listen, I like this idea as much as you do but the reality is that we currently have nothing in our possession; I'm pretty sure some of you may have snacks on your pockets but I don't think those will not feed us all. Besides, we have no clue where the next village is and we have no money; I heard one of the merchants said there has been a new type of currency that has been dominating the region, they called it 'Lien' or something and I do believe my Dad had a bit of it under the-"

"We are not returning there!" Grace yelled with fury.

"What else can we do? We have nothing! It isn't as if a bunch of strangers are not going to care about some kids! You and I know damn well just how merciless the world is! As things are, we cannot ourselves to be naive; We must be ready for whatever awaits outside. We need the Lien, the map and whatever we can scavenge from the village!" At this, the other kids began panicking and voicing their opposition to the idea.

"No! We are not doing this!"

"I refuse!"

"You are insane if you think I will set foot on that carnage!"

"There has to be another way!"

"We need to wait and see!"

"We can-"

"SHUT UP!" Arian suddenly yelled, creating a small wave of red aura that washed over the children, silencing them "Do you really think I wanted this?! No! I would give everything to go back to those days when everything was normal! When the only thing I had to worry about was Mom's and Dad's lectures over unfinished housework or Miss Brons' reports! But guess what? I can't!" Mentioning the good old lady caused a pang of pain in her heart but she pushed through "I know we all had seen things no kid should see... I know all of you are scared and wish this was nothing but an awful nightmare... But it isn't... I really ignore what the future has in store for us but I do know that both Mom and Dad died for my sake; They fought and struggled so I would survive to see another day! So I refuse to perish in this forest at the maws of some Grimm! I refuse to starve to death or dehydrate! I will not be done by some disease or be swindled by others! Our village did the impossible so we could survive and I refuse to let their sacrifice be in vain just because I am too scared to do what is needed!" At this point, she could feel her eyes flooding with tears and some of the other children were already sobbing uncontrollably but her words didn't seem to stop "If you want to stay here and die that is your own damn problem! But I will not give up! I will keep fighting even if there is no hope! I will keep fighting even if the end cannot be changed! I will-! I will-! I-!" She began hyperventilating, feeling her lungs struggling to draw in air and her tears soaking her cheeks.

She was so frustrated.

Why couldn't they see? She had tried her best as well

And just as every single one of them, she had lost everything.

All because of that witch.

All because she wasn't good enough.

All because she was a coward.

 **All because there was no victory in strength.**

...

...

 _"Don't cry... For here I am..."_

The voice gruff yet reassuring washed over her ears and perked her up. His silver eyes met the brilliant platinum and for the first time since their meeting, she was able to see something else besides anger and fury in that rugged visage; There was understanding, concern, worry and most of all, acceptance and a promise of hope and care. The man slowly placed his huge hand atop of her head and began stroking it clumsily, as if he feared he could break her if he wasn't careful; He opened and closed his mouth, trying really hard to convey his feelings but alas, he had never been good at anything else besides tearing apart his most hated enemies. But even with the language barriers, the silver-eyed girl was able to comprehend what he was trying to achieve: Arian felt reassured, safe, protected and most importantly, not alone.

He was more than her savior. He was more than a demon.

He was...

閥

 **Family.**

"I'm fine..." She said softly, grabbing his hand and squeezing it "I'm fine" The man nodded and stayed by her side. The other children seemed surprised at the sudden actions of the tall man but did not move, they watched as he tried his best to console the little girl; His attempts were clumsy but there was a certain charm in them. Something familiar… Something they missed. None of them knew what came over them; When they realized it, they had surrounded the man and began crying all the pent-up stress and trauma.

Asura was startled at first but once he was surrounded by the crying children, he could do nothing but simply stand still and let them get rid of their pain; Some had clutched on his legs while some others were hugging his torso. The Mithra look-alike was begging for him, her arms held high and pleading tears running down her pretty face. The demigod found himself carrying her in his strong arms and patting her back gently as she wailed and called for her deceased parents. He sighed and simply gave up… He knew what the children were going through and he silently cursed himself for being late.

But no more, this was the last time any of them cried this hopelessly. Asura still ignored where he was or what was his purpose gut for now, he had something to protect…

And just like he did with Mithra, he was willing to die protecting these children from the demons hiding in the shadows and the gods above heavens.

* * *

"We are getting close…" Arian said softly as she navigated through the dark forest.

After an hour, the children had finally managed to calm down and decided to accept Arian's plan: None of them wanted to return to the village, afraid of discovering the remnants of the carnage. But deep inside, they knew they did not have other choices.

Arian had spoken the bitter and merciless truth: They were nothing but children, orphans with nothing but their bodies, the clothes they were wearing, and a few snacks and candies in their pockets. Nothing worth for the unforgiving world waiting for them away from the mountains. So with no other choice, they marched towards the village they had called home once. Now, the nest of nightmares and unholy creatures, and the final resting place of their parents. But deep within the terrors lied their price: Clean clothes, precious supplies, a map of the region, and the Lien saved by the leader of the village.

The village used to be a peaceful place, home of farmers, fishers and a few hunters. They sustained themselves with the crops and livestock they produced. The river near the village provided fresh water and a decent amount of fish. The hunters left the village at dawn and returned with small animals like birds, squirrels and sometimes, boars and deer. Grimm didn't seem to thrive through the mountain and the only sightings at the time were a few packs of beowolves. They were simple villagers that had little to no contact with the rest of the world aside from stray merchants that visited every once in a while,

But even in their apparent peace, they were ready to fight if needed: Arian's father had been a proficient warrior in the kingdom beyond the mountains, serving the so-called gods that ruled over the land before their empire fell into darkness. He and a few other silver eyes had fled before it was too late and sought a safe place within the mountains. A caravan of Faunus followed them and together, they created the village. Faunus and humans lived in harmony, working together to secure their future and protect their children from the darkness falling in the land of the gods. Sure enough, Arian's father and a few other men and women proved to be quite skilled in combat… But it seemed like their skills were not enough against the might of an entire Grimm army…

And her.

Arian had never heard about the black witch known as Salem. There was nothing in the mythos or in the stories of the merchants; Whatever she was, she had been walking among the living for quite a while if she was able to devise that terrible offensive against her village; The witch had annihilated the defense and she had dealt with Arian's father easily. There was also the disturbing fact that she commanded humans as well… She was a force to be reckoned.

The young silver-eyes knew the witch would never stop hunting them. She wasn't sure why and in all honesty, Arian was too afraid to even imagine whatever was going on inside the head of that monster. All she knew was that she would have to prepare herself and the rest of the children.

The fight was not over.

"We… We are here…" She heard Jun voice lowly.

And into hell they walked.

The main street was completely devastated with craters and the brutalized remains of corpses and dried blood, black pools of Grimm goo poisoned the soil alongside broken swords and pierced of mangled armor. As sick as it sounded, they were lucky the children didn't find their parents among the deceased. But still, it was horrible enough to root the children at the entrance of the village as their young minds tried to process the disturbing show.

"Let's… Let's just hurry up and do it…" Arian broke the silence "Let's split in pairs and look for anything necessary; Clean clothes, dried food, medical supplies, fresh water, anything we need to survive. After that, we will scavenge anything else… And prepare… And prepare for the mourning service." It was the least they could do, gather the corpses and give them proper burial.

This was something no children should do.

The kids looked at each other before they picked their pairs and walked towards the ruins, looking for everything they would need to survive. Arian watched them leave before she nodded to Jun and together, they walked towards the house of the leader, leaving the demigod to stare at the corpses and grit his teeth in anger. He stayed there was the kids went to recover what little remained of their broken childhood.

The worst part were the memories; Walking through the street, Arian was assaulted with reminiscence of brighter times: How she used to play hide and seek in the alleys, these now filled with the black goo and mangled corpses of the adults; How she used to help in the gardens of the neighbors, these now were patches of stomped soil and covered in dried blood; How she and her father used to visit the house of the leader to deliver the latest news, now this was in shambles and scorched by the fire. The two kids stood at the entrance before Arian ventured into the dark followed by Jun.

The inside was worse.

Arian could remember the leader, an old hunter, proud of the prey he had killed and with lots of stories involving his trustworthy bow and a bunch of dead Grimm. He was also a jolly man that was never able to marry and leave descendants: He had grown lonely and bitter, so he spoiled the children of the village at any chance he got. The kids knew him as the grandfather of the village… And now, he was gone.

The inside used to be decorated with trophies of his prey and a lot of portraits. Old but sturdy furniture filled the living room and the dining room had a wooden table with four chairs. There was no kitchen since the old man liked to cook his food outdoors which had caused a few small fires… Now everything was replaced with the ugly truth.

The trophies lied on the floor, some scorched by the fire, some others cracked and broken beyond repair, some others were simply missing. The sofas in the living room were turned over, missing their stuffing and sporting several deep scratches, the table of the kitchen was split in half, with stains of dried blood and the chairs were reduced to broken pieces. The sight almost made Arian cry again but she stayed strong…

There was still so much to do.

"Jun… Take the kitchen and see if… See if grandfather left something to eat. I will look upstairs for the map and the Lien… Just be careful… I will be back" Arian told the shocked boy

The kid simply nodded dumbly and walked towards the kitchen, making sure to avoid touching the blood on the floor and began rummaging through the shelves. Arian spared the boy one more glance before she ascended through the stairs, the creaking of the wooden steps making her cringe at how loud they were. If memory served her right, the map and the Lien should be on his studio by the main room; The map should be perched in one of the walls… As for the Lien, Arian would have to get creative and find the coin.

She finally reached the top floor and saw the door to the main room slightly open. Curiosity got the better of her and she went ahead and opened to witness… The of the forest and the sight of the mountains far away.

The entire room was missing.

Arian stayed there, watching the scenery with flabbergasted at the implications… And in shock, she looked down to see the remains of the room… And a bloodied hand sticking out from the rubble.

The little girl closed the door and began heaving: It didn't matter how much horrors she had seen so far, she was still afraid. She remained there for a few seconds, trying to reign over the horrible nightmares flooding her innocent mind before she finally moved towards the studio.

Luckily, nothing seemed out of the ordinary here: The studio had been sparred for the most part and it seemed like no one entered the room during the invasion. There was a neat wooden desk in the middle of the room with a few stacks of papers, a small chest and the faded portrait of a young cat Faunus with a straw hat. There was also a cracked window facing the main street and a huge portrait of the old man at the back. At her right, Arian found the map.

She grabbed the map and carefully folded it in a scroll. She eyed the corners of the room and found a leather bag lying on the floor. She grabbed it and quickly inspected the contents: Inside, she found a compass, a small pocket knife, two flint stones, and a letter from some guy called Osiel Pintlebury. Arian eyed the letter curiously but decided to ignore it for now. She still needed to find the Lien.

She inspected the drawers on the desk but only found more papers, bottles with ink and an assortment of quills. Her eyes focused on the small chest at the table, figuring that's where the old man hid the Lien. She inspected the box and groaned as she realized the box had a small padlock, securing the contents. She grabbed the thing and wished she could just rip it open…

And then, there was a soft metallic creaking. Arian slowly opened her hand and noticed she had actually cracked the padlock with her bare hands. She contemplated it for a while before dismissing it, there was no time to dwell in such things for now. She opened the chest and found her price: The Lien. These small and slim rectangular objects with various colors. Arian couldn't tell exactly the value of each individual, but she guessed she would learn with time. There were around sixty of the coin and she hoped it was enough to sustain themselves for a little while until they could produce their own supplies.

She closed the chest and secured it in the leather bag, nodding to herself and wondering if Jun had found anything edible in the kitchen.

It was then when she heard it… A painful cry ripping through the silence of the village followed by desperate pleas.

Someone had found their parents among the ruins.

And like wildfire, more voices joined the sad chorus and the children begged for the parents to come back and protect them from the ugly truth.

It was useless…

They would never move again.

In that aspect, Arian had been quite lucky: There had been nothing left of her father and she couldn't remember where her mother had fallen. And that twisted logic made her feel sick: The leather bad fell and she kneeled, trying her best to cover and protect herself from the sounds with her crimson cloak, fighting the tears and the memories.

Ah, how much she wished this was nothing but a nightmare.

How much she wished she could wake up and have her parents console her and make her forget the bad dreams.

…

Ah…

How much she wished she had died and joined her parents in the afterlife.

And then, she felt a hard, big, and clumsy smile caressing her head carefully. She opened her eyes and saw the huge man holding a crying Jun and a sack with supplies. He watched her carefully, trying his best to say comforting words, trying to let her know he was here for her. But alas, he had never been good with this kind of situations… But for now, it was enough.

Arian leaped from her prone position into his arm and hugged his neck tightly, she felt his hand rest on her small back and in that moment, Arian knew she would be fine.

She didn't know who this strange demon was, but she was sure he would protect her and the rest of silver-eyes. He would guide them through the darkness, keeping them safe from the creatures of Grimm and the other horrors hiding in the shadows… And someday, he would teach them to fight, to be strong, to protect themselves, and to claim their just revenge against the dark witch that had taken everything from them.

But for now, this was enough.

For now, she would allow herself to be protected between his strong arms.

For now, she would allow herself to be weak so he could console her.

For he was her father, and he would never let go of her again.

* * *

The soft ambers of fire bit away the darkness of the night as the bodies of men and women were reduced to ashes. Behind the fire, numerous graves had been dug to let the dead rest in peace and dignity.

Asura watched as the little kids kneeled and prayed to whatever god they believed in, asking for the safe passage of their familiars into the afterlife. He couldn't help but scowl at their childish actions: After all, he knew better than anyone that the gods didn't really care about anything but themselves. But then again, these children were simple humans. And after losing everything, they deserved to find solace in whatever they could. There was no need to destroy their little world with the bitter truth… Not yet.

The demigod had no idea where he was, how he had survived his apparent demise of what was his purpose in this world. At first, he believed Chakravartin words carried truth but now, he was willing to think the crazed god hadn't planned anything drastic for him… Instead, something more meticulous and crueler had occurred.

Asura was given the gift of mortality.

Sure enough, he was still the same demigod that killed the creator Chakravartin. He was more than capable of destroying everything in his sight, level mountains, survive planetary disasters, and even split entire galaxies with nothing but his fists. But deep inside, he could feel his time coming to an end.

In all honesty, it was to be expected.

With Chakravartin's demise, the entire web of Mantra ceased to exist and there was nothing to sustain the immortality of the demigod. The only thing keeping him alive was the ginormous amount of Mantra he consumed in order to kill that bastard. Most if not all of his reserves were lost during the battle but he could still feel a small speck keeping him from vanishing in the wind. If his estimation was right, he could still survive for fifteen to twenty-five human years. And that was if he avoided using his Vajra or his Mantra form,

It wasn't much, not when he had lived for thousands of years. For him, twenty-five years were not even a breath, even less than a blink of his eye… But at the end, he found himself satisfied with this conclusion: He had defeated the seven deities, annihilated gohma vlitra, and even killed the so-called creator of this and the other universes. For goodness sake, he had even died and resurrected three times. He had earned his rightful place in heavens… But that could wait, for he had one more mission to complete.

Suddenly, he felt a small hand grab one of his fingers tightly. He looked down and his platinum eyes glared at the silver of the Mithra look-alike. The little girl wearing that red cloak gave him a pleading look. Asura understood and he carefully lifted and carried her in his arms, the girl hugged his neck and began sobbing softly, quietly for the parents that she lost in this madness.

Soon, Asura found himself burning in anger.

That bitch had escaped before he could finish her up and he was sure he would come back, with a bigger army and more grotesque creatures bound by her dark will. She was the kind of monster that would never rest until the job was done… And it was a good thing Asura was the same.

But at the same time, Asura knew the witch would not attack blindly. She would hide and lick her wounds, waiting and observing patiently, studying and plotting, nurturing and rising new horrors to fight against the demigod and kill the last remains of this village.

And for the first time in a while, Asura felt afraid.

For he knew he would not be able to watch over them forever.

His time was now limited and after he was gone, they would be all alone in this world…

He gritted his teeth and wished he could stay and protect them for the rest of their lives…

But his time was up…

…

…

But not all was lost.

After all, Asura was still the man that defeated an entire army of demigods by himself, slain the strongest gohma in history, and beat the shit out of the god that created everything.

At his core, he was still the same Heavenly general that defied destiny and won.

Twenty-five years weren't much they would certainly be enough.

Enough time to groom, nurture and train these children into rightful heir of his might. He would guide them through the darkness as he shaped their bodies into the perfect warriors this world has seen. Sure, they would never be as powerful as him but they would be strong enough to give middle-tier units in the Shinkoku army a run for their money. They would become the strongest beings in this planet, capable of taking entire armies without breaking a sweat.

And once he was gone, they would hunt and kill the dark witch; She will run, cower, and hide as his children cracked the earth and split the heavens with their just might. Not even the deepest and darkest hole in this land will save form retribution and even her coven will protect them from their anger and fury.

Maybe this earthly form of his would crumble into dust, and maybe their children would eventually succumb to all age…

But as long as one of the silver-eyed warriors still breathed and fought for their life, he would always be there for them, he would always protect them from the dark.

For he was Asura, the Destroyer.

And his wrath was eternal.

 **つづく...**

 **To be continued...**

* * *

 **I**

 **神**

 **God**

 **FINISHED**.

* * *

 **Once a father, always a father**

 _The region of Patch_

 _Several hundreds of years later_

"Come back here, you little rascal!" Summer Rose roared playfully as she stalked her naked charge all over the house "Get back here! It's time to sleep, baby dragon!"

"But I refuse!" A young girl with golden hair and lilac eyes retorted, coming out from behind a large bookcase "One of the things I, Yang Xiao Long, like the most is to find someone who thinks they're hot shit, and say 'NO' to their faces!" She finished with a cocky grin and her hands resting on her small waist as a menacing aura made itself present behind her back.

The room was suddenly silent as Summer tried to process what her foster daughter had just uttered.

"W-Wha… What did you…? Where did you learn to say those things?!" The woman finally screeched in horror.

"Uncle Qrow left me his favorite comics!" Yang claimed proudly.

"I'm going to kill that stupid Pidgeon!" Summer growled in anger.

"Eww! Bad word!" A babe almost identical to Summer chimed in from the stairs "I'm gonna tell daddy!"

"You know what? Enough is enough! It's time to sleep!" Summer claimed as she approached Yang.

"Oh? You are approaching me? Instead of running away! Even though you already know the secret behind my stand! Very well! I, Yang Xiao Long! Will face you with the strongest stand: 「THE WORLD」 Stop time!" Yang claimed dramatically as she extended her arms wide.

"Nice try, but 「Star platinum」is immune so tough luck" Summer said without batting an eye.

"Impossible!" Yang said shocked "But I still got one more tactic left! One more chance to defeat you! A technique so powerful it will blow your mind into smithereens!" A tense silence followed as even Summer waited for her daughter's trump card "RUN AWAY!" Yang screamed as she attempted to dive into the kitchen.

"Not this time." Summer said, grabbing the girl between her arms "I swear Qrow will suffer for this."

"You can't do this! I am Yang! I am the strongest Stand user in remnant! You can't put me to bed!" The blonde trashed between her mother's arms but was too weak to break free. "WRYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYY!"

"Ruby, would you be a dear and wash your teeth while I deal with this vampire?" Summer asked with a sweet smile

"Okay mom!" The babe said cheerfully as she darted towards the bathroom.

Once Ruby was done, she entered the room to find her big sister scowling as her mother prepared her to sleep. Summer slipped her into a cute yellow pajama with the picture of a dragon in it. After that, she lovingly brushed the hair of her daughter and braided it in two pigtails. After she was done, she admired her work before she pinched Yang on her soft cheeks, making the blonde groan in annoyance.

"You are so cute!" Summer, unable to control herself, smothered her daughter with kisses "I love you so much!"

"Get out of my face, you stupid bitch!"

"I am definitely killing Qrow and turning him into soup" Summer said with a dangerous grin. She then turned and noticed Ruby "Ah! You are finally done?" The babe nodded and Summer clapped "Very good! You are already a young lady! I am proud of you!" Ruby sped and jumped in her mother's embrace, letting Summer rain small pecks all over her face "My sweet, sweet Ruby. You are so cute!" The babe giggled as her mother tucked her into the bed, using a big red cloak as a blanket. "Alright little Rubes, do you need something else before sleeping?"

The little girl hummed as she thought, her face brightened when she finally got an idea… But her sister intervened before Ruby could say anything

"Your next line is going to be… 'Mom! I want to hear a story!' TO YU!"

"Mom! I want to h-!" Ruby gasped once she realized her big sister predicted her "H-How did you do that, Yang?! That was amazing!" Summer rolled her eyes while Yang could only smile cockily

"Anyway… You want to hear a story, dear?" Summer asked her younger daughter, Ruby nodded with a wide smile "Alright, let me think about…" Suddenly, Summer's eyes widened in realization "Hey, Ruby… Have I ever told you about our father?"

"Our… Father?" Ruby asked in confusion "How can daddy be your daddy as well, Mommy?"

"I am not talking about TaiYang… I am talking about our father: The father of all of us silver eyes." Summer explained herself, making Ruby even more confused.

"That doesn't make any sense!" Yang voiced for her sister. "How can Ruby have another daddy beside my daddy… And still be the daddy of Mommy?!"

"When you put it like that… It sounds confusing but let me explain…" Summer began as she sat beside in her younger daughter's bed "You see: Long before You or even I were born, Our people, the silver eyes, lived at the highest peak of Remnant. We were peaceful people, living a peaceful life, away from the danger of the Grimm and the darkness in the heart of men. But one day, everything changed… A dark witch made herself present in the horizon and rained an army of Grimm upon our people, slaughtering men and women alive, not caring whether the victim as an elder or a youth. She bathed in their blood and cackled as we died in screams of pain" The little girl began trembling and hid beneath her cloak while her mother kept talking.

"The witch and her minions struck with cruelty, making the children witness as their parents were gutted by the monsters of Grimm. Our demise was secured, there was no way for us to escape the fury of the dark witch… That was until he came from heavens: Our father." At this, Ruby perked up and got out of her cloak "With his fearless fist, he fought and defeated the black witch as the Grimm were reduced but disgusting paste on the soil. His platinum eyes made the monsters and the witch cower in fear as his crimson aura chased away the shadows, bathing our people in his light and giving us the push we needed to survive and fight."

"His wrath inspired us, strengthened us, allowed us to stand for ourselves and fight against whatever this world has in store for us… And even though he left a long time ago, he is still here with us; Whispering words of comfort whenever we are lost in the dark, smiting our enemies when they come for our backs, and guiding us in this land of darkness. Some may call him a god but he scowled at the thought: At his core, he would always be our father and nothing more."

"Is… Is that true?" Ruby asked in wonder.

"Of course it is true! You and I are both his precious daughters! And even though his body is naught but dust in the world, he will always be with us… For his wrath is eternal and ours to use." Summer finished as she raised her arm for her daughter to see.

Suddenly, Summer's hand was engulfed in a crimson aura. Young Ruby watched the event with wide eyes, soaking her childish mind with the light and the power of her mother's aura. And as she watched, something resonated within her core: It was a savage maelstrom that chased away her insecurities and fears. Her heart beat loudly inside her chest as the silhouette of a man was revealed to her in her mind: His white hair, golden arms… And his platinum eyes as he roared at the monsters in the dark.

"F-Father…" The babe mused quietly. Summer smiled and dispelled her crimson aura, making Ruby blink in confusion "Uh? Mom? What was I…?"

"You will now with time. And I will be there to guide towards the truth…" Summer told her daughter, kissing her in the head. "But for now, it is time to sleep." She finished as she turned towards her blonde child "And as for you, young lady: I will have a serious discussion with Qrow once he is back… I am sure he will have an interesting explanation for this." The Rose elder said with a predatory grin "But for now, sleep well, my little dragon." Summer said, kissing her other daughter in her cheek.

"Hey mom…" The young yang called, earning Summer's attention "You said you and Ruby had a father… What about me, then? I know I have daddy… But since you are my mommy… Am I also…? You know…" She asked, feeling a bit left out and insecure.

"But of course you are! Strong meatheads like you were his favorite!" Summer answered, kissing her daughter again.

"Oh! I see… Well… I am glad to-! Wait a minute! Did you just call me 'Meathead'?!"

"Goodnight, loves." Summer said with a wink and turned off the lights before she left the room.

Climbing down the stairs, Summer couldn't help but smile at the progress she made today: Truth be told, she had been worried ever since Ruby was born. The little babe was a full-fledged silver-eyes, holding the same beauty and grace of every member in their ancient and powerful family. But it seemed like the youngest heiress of the Rose family had been born with little to nothing of the legacy left by their father. Sure enough, even Summer had been born with a minuscule amount of the great power her ancestors held: Constant generations of blood mixing had resulted in a decay of the power her family once wielded.

But Summer was okay with that.

Instead of power, she now had allies that would support her in her secret war against the black witch. And Summer promised she would kill Salem herself… She would end this painful and old battle so Ruby could grow into a normal girl and enjoy the life most of the silver-eyes never had the chance to have.

She felt a soft caress a top of her head. Summer widened her eyes and turned around but found nothing. She smiled and touched the warm spot on her head

"Thanks, father…" She whispered to herself and went to the kitchen to prepare her husband's dinner.

 **完**


	5. The girl in red

**II**

 **娘**

 **Legacy**

* * *

 **Episode 1**

* * *

It was a cold night when Roman Torchwick stepped into the store 'From Dust till Dawn'. He smiled wickedly at the old man at the counter as his goons began raiding the place from its Dust. He watched with mild satisfaction as the precious crystal and powder was taken and secured in metallic suitcases his men had been carrying, it brought him memories of his younger days when he was nothing more than a street rat, robbing stupid pedestrians on the street and committing a substantial amount on felonies by himself or with the help of other bastards.

He left those days behind as he quickly became one of the most infamous crime mobsters in this side of Vale, his numerous raids and operations have even caught the attention of Atlas army and even the renowned General James Ironwood had claimed he would bring him down personally. Sure, the uptight toy soldier had uttered some pretty and colorful words but Roman knew little woody would never catch him. After all, there was nothing out there Torchwick hadn't done before: theft, kidnapping, assassination, blackmail, forgery, smuggling, and even terrorism were among the things Roman Torchwick had done to become a force to be reckon in Remnant.

But this? Stealing Dust from a small shop? This surely was beneath anything the criminal mastermind had done in his life.

There was no catch either: This shop was only known for having low prices and an interesting array of magazines and books somewhere on the back. It wasn't visited by some member of the Schnee family or some powerful dignitary or even a professor from Beacon Academy. It wasn't as if there were some shady business going on under the table by Roman's rivals or even a White Fang HQ.

It was a simple Dust shop with low prices and interesting magazines.

So why the hell was Roman Torchwick, criminal mastermind and powerful mobster in Vale, robbing this shop as if he was a lowly punk?

Simple.

He had been hired to do so.

One fine night, quite similar to this one, someone had knocked at his door.

Now, Roman liked the glamorous life. After all, what was the point of stealing large quantities of Lien if he was not going to use it in all the things he wanted. But he wasn't the kind of guy who would just give away his home address. In fact, most of the people who knew where he lived where either dead or soon to be… Well, there was also Neo Politan, but they had history together so Roman was sure he could trust her.

When he answered the door, he was greeted with the sight of the worst headache he would ever have in his entire life: A young woman wearing a fancy and quite slutty red dress. Her hair was of an ashen black and she had the most beautiful yet terrifying amber eyes he had seen before. She spoke with a sultry yet predatory voice and presented herself as Cinder Fall… And she required his services.

As any villainess in most fairy tales, Cinder promised great riches while disclosing little about this 'great plan' of hers. Roman was more than willing to slam the door in her nose if it weren't for his instincts telling him that if he ignored this woman, he would wake up tomorrow with his throat slit open.

So with a lot of reluctance, he accepted.

And oh, boy! He was in for quite the ride.

Cinder proved to be everything Roman imagined… And more: A psychopath dominatrix that held nothing but contempt to anyone but herself. The bitch began barking orders and demanding Roman do her binding… And any other day, Roman would have been more than pleased to turn her head into fine bloody mist with Melodic Cudgel.

But today was not that day.

The plan was simple on paper:

1.- Steal Dust

2.- Gather a large pack of Grimm

3.- Use Dust to breach the city of Vale

4.- Unleash the Grimm on the city

5.- Take advantage of the panic to infiltrate

6.- Expect Ironwood and his toys to arrive

7.- Infiltrate and corrupt Ironwood's toys

8.- Reveal themselves to everyone

9.- Take control over Ironwoods toys.

10.- Unleash hell and watch Vale fall.

Of course, Roman had added one more step.

11.- Steal everything you can and get as far as possible from the crazy bitch and her creepy kids.

It is needless to say that only Neo and He knew about this last step in the plan.

And just as you would expect, Roman had performed marvelously: He had raided Schnee warehouses, trains and even laboratories all across Vale. Almost letting the entire kingdom dry from its supply. His safe houses and warehouses were completely filled to the brim with enough dust to blow the entire city of Vale into oblivion… But of course, Cinder was not satisfied and demanded more.

So here was Roman Torchwick, criminal mastermind and the most dangerous mobster in Vale, stealing from a small dust shop like a common punk.

Just his luck.

"Just get it over with, it is getting late and my favorite sitcom will start soon." He told the grunts.

Honestly, there had to be better henchmen somewhere out there but Roman hadn't found them yet. Instead, he had to hire these meatheads that where barely able to tell the difference between the handle and the blade of their machetes. He had gotten them from some guy called junior Xiong, owner of the nightclub called 'Junior's club'… Quite original, indeed. He was a decent information broker and knew almost everything going on in Vale. But Roman had to say, his forces were well below mediocre.

Well, at least they were cheap.

"Hey, you!" He heard one of the idiots scream in the back "Get out of here, kid!"

"Are… Are you robbing me?" A girly and childish voice asked.

Out of pure curiosity, Roman looked over there to see who was being mugged by his goons: He discovered a small girl reading a magazine. The child was a bit taller than Neo, with black hair, trimmed red at the tips. Her skin was of a porcelain color, with soft pinkish lips adorning her mouth and her eyes held clear silver irises… Something Roman hadn't seen in his entire life. The girl was wearing a black dress with red laces and a belt holding several bullets and a silver brooch in the shape of a flaming rose. She was wearing combat boots and a pair of black stockings protected her legs from the world. Everything was crowded by her pure crimson cloak tied over her shoulders.

Roman had seen outfits like those back in the day… Mostly from women that were eager to lose them for Lien and not some kiddo that still smelled like milk. But then again, he was no one to judge; He himself had received quite the colorful commentaries regarding his favorite hat and the curious shape of his eyelashes.

All and all, the girl was nothing but a minor setback: If the goth Lolita was smart, she would remain quiet and give everything in her pockets. If she was stupid, the boys would need to get a little rough with her and teach her to do as they tell. Roman only hoped they knew to control themselves: Disposing of child corpses was not something he enjoyed… And he kind of hoped none of the idiots was a deviant that enjoyed raping little girls.

Not that he would do anything to stop it but cleaning the mess afterwards would be a royal pain in the ass.

Well, at least it would be her ass and not his

He chuckled at his dark joke and simply decided to focus on getting the dust and let the goons do whatever they wanted…

That was until he heard a loud yelp and turned around just to see the guy flying through the window and landing hard on the floor with the sickening crack of broken bones filling his ears. Roman stared dumbfounded at the lying form of his henchman, his mind telling him the guy was alive but will never be able to walk again... Or wake up. He turned to other side and stared at the little brat that had inflicted such damage upon a grown man.

She was currently fidgeting and looking quite guilty and nervous.

"Oh! I… I didn't think he would be that… That weak!" She stammered as if trying to excuse herself for what she did "He looked quite strong and mean so I thought his aura would be the same, but can you believe my surprise when his aura crumbled, and he simply flew through the window? Now that I think about it, he flew through the window and crashed on the street without aura… Well, I didn't hit him that hard so he should be alive… With broken bones and in coma but alive nonetheless…" She looked at directly at Roman "Uhm… Do you think the police will believe me if I said it was self-defense?"

That made Roman shudder in fright.

He looked left and right and noticed the goons managed to realize something was incredibly wrong with that girl: They seemed hesitant and some were already looking for the exit… But Roman still had a job to do and these idiots would play their part…

As cannon fodder.

"Well, what are you waiting for? Christmas? Kill her already." He told them with the most neutral tone he could manage.

They all hesitated at the order but luckily for them, the most stupid of the bunch recovered and ran towards the girl, flailing his machete wildly. He reached the girl and swung his blade down on her head with as much force as he could muster…

Only for the blade to crack upon touching the girl, doing absolutely no damage to her.

The shop was once again in silence and Roman noticed in mild amusement how some of the goons literally had their eyes bulging out of their sockets due to the shock. He would have laughed if it weren't for the fact that he was sweating cold and trembling slightly.

"You all saw that, right? He attacked me with killing intent!" The girl said behind the goon while he was busy looking at his broken machete, trying to understand what just happened "This is legal self-defense!"

Roman watched as the small, frail and cute girl lifted his tiny boot and kicked the goon in his knee… Causing it to crack and bend in an unnatural angle. The damage had been so extensive Roman could see the broken bones sticking from his bloodied pants. The man screamed and fell to the ground, clutching his destroyed knee as a large pool of blood began forming beneath him. The girl just stayed there, glancing at the man with an unreadable expression in her face until her eyes shifted to Roman and the remaining goons…

And she smiled.

It was at this moment that Roman knew he fucked up.

"RUN AWAY!" Goon number three screamed and the mean looking men turned around and ran as fast as they could away from the monster disguised as a Goth Lolita.

Roman himself jumped over the counter when a red blur almost flattened him on the ground and hid alongside the old man he was trying to rob. The dude attempted to scream but Roman covered his mouth and waited as the terrible sounds of carnage filled his ears: The goons were screaming while his limbs were broken or dislocated, followed by the wet sound of bodies hitting the bloodied ground followed by one last pathetic scream before the street was engulfed in silence again.

Torchwick waited a few more seconds before he finally got out of his hiding spot and gazed upon the most disturbing scene he had ever seen in his entire life… And he had seen some dark shit back in the day.

All his men were on the ground, with broken arms and legs, their limbs bent at unnatural angles and completely bathed in blood. At the center was the little girl, looking at her job with a worried expression and musing to herself.

"Yang will definitely get mad for this… But they tried to kill me so self-defense is justified… But I used my fist instead of my scythe… Ugh… What to do…?"

Now, killing children made Roman uncomfortable… He would do the job if needed but he wouldn't like it.

But killing a ruthless beast… That was something Roman Torchwick could do any day of the week.

He checked through the contents of the shelf behind him and found something he was wasn't quite expecting but grabbed nonetheless. And since all his men were defeated and probably will never get up again, he took a single suitcase filled with dust. He gave himself a few seconds to collect himself and run a few tests on his plan inside his head before he vaulted over the counter and face the beast.

"Well, you guys were every Lien… And if it helps, it wasn't that much." He began with practiced fines, he had learned to put on his mask of cockiness and confidence even in the direst situations "Now red, why would you do that to my friends? We just wanted to Dust and leave quietly, there was no need to act so uncivilized and brutish." The girl was cut out of her musing and looked at Roman straight in his eyes.

"And then, there was one." The mobster gulped and had to use every fiber of his self-control to avoid running away and screaming like a little girl. The little girl walked away from the bodies and made way towards Roman, her cloak brushing the bloodied floor softly.

"Listen red, I know you are kind of mad for how my boys treated you but you kind of sent them into a nice sleep and I don't think they will wake up… Ever." This gave the girl pause. She bit her lip and looked at the men she had just slaughtered. Roman smiled and continued with his plan "So how about we start from the beginning, huh? Here, a gift so you can see I mean business." He threw a small spherical object at the girl "Merry Christmas and happy new year!" He finished, running towards the closest emergency ladder he saw.

"Hey! What the hell…?!" The girl exclaimed, catching the thing "Where are you going?! What did you even…?!" Whatever she was going to say was interrupted when the sphere exploded in her face, engulfing her in a cloud of fire and destroying everything around her.

Roman allowed herself to snort as he reached for the second ladder in the roof and congratulated himself for his magnificent cleverness. The beats had proved to be quite resilient to melee weapons and something in his mind told him that Melodic Cudgel wouldn't fare any better against that little monster. And when he thought everything was lost, he found quite the interesting object in that small dust shop with interesting magazines at the back.

He found a military-grade fragmentation grenade.

It is needless to say these beauties were illegal to sell, even to Huntsmen and Huntresses. The only ones allowed to carry these nates were high-ranking specialists in the Atlas army and special task forces from the other kingdoms.

Why, you ask? Well, it is pretty simple in fact.

The grenade had the same dimensions as a baseball ball, it was quite light, and a specialist could carry around five or six. From the outside, you would almost mistake it for a Christmas sphere.

The inside was another and deadlier story.

The little thing was filled with both fire and lighting dust fused together in a high volatile blend and surrounded by an iron casing that would launch itself upon explosion, creating a deadly combination of fire and a rain of shrapnel upon any poor bastard unlucky enough to be close. The fragments carried enough kinetic force to pierce aura and skewer any being in the entire planet. Roman had seen these babies reduce an alpha Ursa mayor into bloody ribbons in a single instant.

Surely, it could obliterate a girl.

Right?

Now at the top of the second rooftop, Roman allowed himself to laugh at his victory and gaze upon the curtain of dust that concealed the now brutalized body of the beast. Once it has cleared, he would take a photo and save the moment for the posterity.

But as the smoke cleared, his smile began faltering until it was replaced with a terrified frown

The girl was intact.

Her clothes had been charred by the fire and damaged by the shrapnel, but she was fine: There was not a single wound in her perfect porcelain skin. Not even the shadow of a burn. Hell, not even her hair seemed damaged…

But above all else, Roman noticed something that almost made him lose control of his bladder.

The girl was angry… No, scratch that: She was seething with wrath.

Without a second thought, Roman grabbed the suitcase and attempted to run using the roofs of the other buildings until he left a small shock under his feet and turned around to see silver eyes brimming with fury.

The girl had somehow jumped from her spot, on top of the building and right behind him. Roman noted with worry how cracked the rooftop had ended due to her landing.

"Ah! Red! You are… Alive. He, he…" If looks could kill, Roman would have already perished under the heavy glare of the girl "Come on, red! It was a joke! You know: Just an innocent j-" Before Roman could finish, the girl had already vanished, leaving a trail of rose petals.

Roman followed the trail and realized the girl was right in front of him and had enough time to realize her fist was going straight for his jaw in an uppercut. Any other day, Roman was sure he would survive any beating: The life of a street rat had made him durable and resistant to any damage but right now…

Roman knew that tiny fist would rip his head out of his shoulders.

He closed his eyes and winced, waiting for his end…

But it never came.

After a few more seconds, Roman finally opened his eyes to see the young girl… Looking at the distant and again musing to herself.

"Sure I'm angry but if I kill him, Yang will chew me… I mean, Is there a way to break his bones without ending his life…? He threw a grenade at me and almost killed his friends… Then again, I could break his legs and call it a day… Or could just…" She then perked up and clapped "Of course! I could use that!" She claimed happily and reached behind his back to bring forth an object that would forever plague Roman's nightmare.

At first, the girl was holding a small red box. Nothing to worry about… But then, the box began unfolding and getting larger and larger until Roman was greeted by the terrifying sight of the ginormous blade of a wicked scythe. The nightmarish weapon was twice as big as the girl, its blade was long as Roman's arm and painted in a bloody crimson. Roman stared at the blade in horrified wonder while the girl inspected the blade with a wide small

"Yup! Crescent Rose is in top shape today as well!" The girl said, twirling the humongous death machine as if were a cheerleader baton "This should do the trick!" She glared at Roman and slammed the scythe on the roof, cracking it by the sheer bulk and weight of the weapon "Now, we can continue." She finished and dashed to bisect Roman.

Roman composed himself and was barely able to block the blade with his cane. His muscles strained against the strength behind the strike, but he was able to keep his ground. He hoped away and blocked another strike that attempted to split his head in half. Torchwick was doing his best to barely defend himself against the relentless combination of the girl… But even un his precarious situation, he couldn't help but notice that the girl wasn't as fast as before. Her attacks, although powerful, lacked focus and Roman was able to dodge, deflect or even block if needed. Sure, one of her hits was enough to numb his muscles but he was at least holding his ground.

He realized that instead of empowering her abilities, the weapon was actually crippling her performance… That kind of hurt Roman's pride but so long as she didn't pummel him into a bloody pulp with her fists, he would fight her while she is blindfolded, with a hand behind her back, and her feet glued to the ground.

After all, Roman would most likely keep his innards inside his body and his limbs the way they were. Thank you very much. Now he just needed to wait for a chance to slip behind his attacks and escape… He just hoped he could endure.

And such opportunity came: After a particularly wide arc, Roman saw a small opening to capitalize on… And being the piece of shit he was, he took full advantage of it. He snuck under the scythe, rolled on the ground and simply sprinted away as fast as he could. He heard the girl yelp in surprise and could hear her chasing after him… But as he had suspected, the scythe was simply in her way. He thanked Oum for her stupidity: Had she used her fists, this fight would be over from the very beginning.

He vaulted over the rooftops of the other buildings, using every single ounce of parkour he had gained when he was young. He could hear the roof cracking as the girl and the weight of her stupid weapon landed just behind his talons.

Goddammit.

This was not supposed to be this hard.

And finally, Roman ran out of rooftops and was greeted with the beautiful sight of the City of Vale's Central Park. He gasped for air, unable to remember when was the last time he ran like this… And just when he was regaining his bearing, he heard her land behind him.

"Seriously red, you would chase after me all the way here? I am kind of flattered" He spoke smoothly while turning around and there she was, the beast in all her glory.

The girl was glaring daggers at him while she held her terrifying weapon, her clothes charred and ragged by the grenade used on her but otherwise completely unharmed. In fact, she wasn't even tired from the chase. There was only that cold determination and fury behind her pretty silver eyes.

Just who the hell was this chick?

"You threw a grenade at me." She deadpanned, walking slowly towards him.

"True, but you mauled my men. So what gives?"

"You are still holding the stolen dust."

"Is that so?" He asked in faux confusion, looking left and right until he found the suitcase in his hands "Oh! Dearie me! I seem to have forgotten I grabbed this thing! How foolish of me… So how about this red; I give you the suitcase with the dust and we go separate ways, huh?"

"You are still a criminal. I will take you to the authorities."

"Aww! That doesn't sound like a good thing! Come on, red: There has to be something you want…"

"Look, you can either come with me to the police station, or you can come with me to the police station… The only difference between the two would be that in one of those scenarios, your legs are broken." She told him severely.

"Wow, you almost sounded kind of badass…" Roman said while clapping in mockery "But sadly for you, my ride is here

"What do you…?" The girl began until he heard a rumbling. Suddenly, a bullhead made itself present just behind Roman, making the girl stagger "You… You planned this!"

"Sure I did!" Roman claimed proudly as the door of the bullhead opened "It was nice dancing with you, red. But I will have to leave… You know, there are things to do, people to meet, and dust to steal!" Roman said, hopping into the bullhead.

"Get back here!" The girl said, discarding her weapon and running towards the thief

"Oh! And before I forget… Here…" He said, throwing the suitcase at the girl and aiming with his cane "See you in hell, red!" And he fired.

The projectile hit and the suitcase exploded in a maelstrom of colors as elements clashed, giving birth to more unstable reactions and further fueling the inferno making its way towards the girl. Roman watched in evil glee as the fire advanced unrelenting towards the girl in red, knowing this time for sure, she would die… Because if she didn't and simply tanked that damn explosion, he might as well jump and kill himself before he had to deal with that monster.

One day he would learn to keep his mouth shut. Destiny, being the wicked mistress she was, listened to Roman and decided to make his life even more miserable… Although not in the way he expected.

Before the storm of deadly fire could touch the girl, it was surrounded by a purple aura, halting its advance and secluding it from expanding even more. Roman watched the anomaly with his mouth open in shock his brain working overdrive trying to understand what the hell was going on… And that was when he noticed a second presence in the rooftop.

It was a tall, blonde woman with green eyes and fair skin. The bespectacled lady was wearing a peculiar long-sleeved white shirt that for some strange reason, revealed a good portion of her cleavage. She wore a black and thing skirt hugging her generous curves and a pair of high-heeled boots. And to top it all, she was wearing a black cape…

She was a huntress.

Not just any huntress, she was Glynda Goodwitch, Headmistress of Beacon Academy.

Roman was in trouble.

"Shit!" He screamed, dashing towards the cockpit "Get us out of here, you stupid piece of fucking sh-" But before he could finish, he was met with cold ember eyes "C-Cinder!? What the hell are you doing here?!"

"I was wondering what was taking you so long, so I came to see if you were in trouble… But I can see you are quite lively if you are speaking to me with that tone." She answered coldly "Maybe I should do something to fix that foul attitude of yours." Her left eye ignited with her words.

"Yeah! Whatever! Could you please keep your fetishes to yourself until we are out of here?! We have trouble!" Cinder blinked at the total disregard of her threat but did not move "Hurry up! I will get us out of here!" She yelped and finally moved out of the cockpit so Roman could take the controls. "Deal with that monster!"

"I don't see why you are acting like this… A huntress is hardly worth this kind of behavior." Cinder said, walking towards the door of the bullhead and opening.

"Forget about Goodwitch! Kill that damn brat!" Roman roared through the comms.

"What the hell are you-?" But suddenly, the bullhead shook uncontrollably.

Cinder peered outside and saw the headmistress hurling gigantic spikes of crystalized dust their way. The woman clicked her tongue and activated her own semblance: By dusting her dress, she called upon a large wave of blazing fire and used it to repel everything Glynda was throwing at them. Cinder soon realized she had met her match and there was no way for her to actually overpower the Headmistress… If she could stop attacking for a second, she would be able to focus enough dust to level the entire building and the Huntress. But if she stopped, Glynda will keep rocking the bullhead and it would eventually fall. She kept musing until Roman once again screamed in her ear

"KILL THE BRAT!"

Cinder winced and snarled at the mobster but decided to comply; She scanned the rooftop and found her target: A young girl wearing black and wielding a huge scythe.

Now, Roman Torchwick felt uncomfortable about killing children… But Cinder Fall had no problem whatsoever.

In fact, she kind of enjoyed it.

She willed her fire and directed one stray bullet towards the child. To her surprise, the girl didn't make any attempt to dodge. Either out of fear or stupidity, Cinder didn't know but it served her purpose marvelously. Before the ball of fire could hit the girl and reduce her to ashes, the huntress halted her offensive and protected the kid. Cinder grinned.

Huntsmen were simply too predictable it was almost boring.

Suddenly, the huntress found herself trying to do three things at once: Attack the bullhead, defend herself, and protect the youth. And even though she had the capacity to do these things and more, Cinder's raw power was making Glynda lose her focus. And inevitably, Glynda committed a mistake. Her concentration slipped for a single moment and that was all Cinder needed to slip a fast bullet towards the child.

Glynda watched in horror as the fireball hit the girl square in her chest and was engulfed in a cloud of fire.

"NO!" Her scream was heard even on the cockpit but that didn't make Roman feel relaxed at all.

With her tempo broken, Cinder conjured spirals of fire beneath the feet of the huntress but to her displeasure, Glynda managed to dodge before she was disintegrated like the girl.

But she had succeeded, the huntress had failed and Roman managed to stabilize the bullhead, escaping into the night. Glynda allowed herself to glare at the speeding dot in the night sky before she turned to the cloud of smoke just a few feet away from her. She attempted to walk but her feet were rooted on the ground. The bitter taste of defeat filled her mouth and she felt herself shedding tears for her failure. She hadn't seen the girl quite well but she was able to tell she was even younger than the first years at Beacon.

Why such a young girl was here in the first place was a question she would never be able to answer but she knew what had to be done: As the headmistress of Beacon, she had only lost children thrice… And remembering how the parents cried and called for their fallen child made her break inside. She had promised herself to never fail her students but here she was, unable to protect the life a single girl, a girl that was too young to understand what was going on; A girl that, judging by the weapon she was carrying, wanted to join Beacon and saw this as an opportunity to prove herself; A young girl who could have changed the tides of this ridiculous war against the Grimm; A young girl who could have found love at the academy just like many of her students did…

A young kid who could-

"Oh, jeez… Yang is definitely going to kill me." A soft voice lamented behind the smoke curtain.

Glynda widened her eyes, and with a single swept of her riding crop, dispelled the clouds of smoke and dust. Revealing the same girl, her clothes utter devastated with only her brassier precariously covering her petite intimacy. The headmistress strode towards the girl and began touching her everywhere, scanning for any sort of injury or anomaly, making sure this wasn't her tortured mind playing a trick on her due to her grief… But she was real… The girl was real and alive. A bit dusty and filthy and almost naked… But she was fine…

But upon seeing who she was, she stopped all altogether as memories from the past resurfaced:

Glynda Goodwitch could still remember the first day of class, almost as if it was yesterday.

She was just like this girl. Albeit a bit older, taller, her hair was longer, and it was a shade of pure black instead of having red trimming. And the always present red cloak following her around.

Yes, Glynda Goodwitch could still remember when Summer Rose stepped into her classroom the first day. A petite and short girl that hid a dangerous secrete behind her warm smile and gentle nature… And if memory served her right… This was her daughter, born from her marriage with Taiyang Xiao Long.

The last silver-eyed warrior.

Ruby Rose.

"ACHOO!" Ruby sneezed loudly, causing the last remnants of her bra to fall apart and reveal her modest chest to the world "Oh, no!" She said, quickly covering herself with her red cloak and looking at Glyda in shame "Uhm… You don't happen to have a spare shirt on your pockets… Right?" She asked shyly. "It's kind of cold out here…"

…

…

Glynda couldn't help but chuckle…

"Like mother like daughter, huh?" She mused to herself with a small smile.

 **つづく** **...**

 **To be continued...**

* * *

 **The girl in red.**

 **Daughter of wrath.**

 _The city of Vale_

 _Police station 1337_

 _One hour later_

Ruby Rose found herself sitting inside a small room in a police station wearing an oversized gray shirt that said "BAD COP".

The shirt was quite big for a girl her age and she often had to deal with it almost falling out of her small frame. But she supposed it was better than going around with her chest bare to the world… Not like there was anyone who would be interested to stare at it. Despite her age, Ruby had found out she was rather underdeveloped for someone her age: While some of the girls back in Signal had already blossomed as women. Hell, even her sister had more chest than her when she was a toddler! But then again, comparing herself to Yang wasn't the wisest thing to do: Yang had to basically change brassieres almost every month since her chest just kept on growing…

Ruby sighed in frustration.

She just hoped all that milk she drank was worth something.

The door behind her opened and the blonde woman came in. Ruby perked up and looked at her curiously: Aside from her dad and uncle, she hadn't seen another full-fledged Huntsmen or Huntress. Patch was quite isolated and the Grimm population was lower than average so not many Huntsmen were located there. She knew her dad and uncle Qrow were strong but Ruby needed someone else to scale their abilities and strengths. And lucky her, here was who she was waiting for: Now, she just needed an opportunity to ask this woman for a f-

"Young lady!" Her thoughts were interrupted by her stern voice and the riding crop hitting the table, very close to her hands "I hope you realize your actions tonight will not be taken lightly…" The Huntress began, staring daggers at Ruby and making her cringe "You put yourself and others in great danger!"

"I-I was actually fine!" Ruby interjected "They were the ones that started! I was minding my own business when they tried to rob me!"

"Is that so?" The Huntress asked, skeptical "Well, if it were up to me, I would send you home with a pat on the back… And a slap on the wrist!" She said, once again slamming her riding crop on the table, this time making Ruby yelp like a puppy. "But that would need to wait… After all, there is someone who wants to see you."

Ruby looked at the huntress in confusion before the door behind her opened again.

The newcomer was a strange man, with a mop of tousled silver hair and light brown eyes hidden behind a pair of small shades. He was wearing a green suit and was carrying a tray with cookies and a mug with coffee. The man looked at Ruby before he placed the tray in the table and got close enough to examine the young girl.

"Ruby Rose…" He spoke with a soft voice "You have silver eyes…"

"Yes, I do! Just like my mom!" She quipped happily.

"I see…" The man nodded "Tell me, Ruby Rose: Where did you learn to fight like that?"

"I… Never did; I always knew how to move and attack. I have always known how to use my fist and how to destroy my enemies… It is weird but it is the truth!" She explained herself with honesty.

"Interesting." The man mused, taking a sip from his mug "Did you know you almost killed those men?"

"W-well…" She looked at the cookies and fidgeted a bit "I honestly thought they weren't that weak: Since all of them looked kind of imposing I assumed they could take a punch or two without… You know, kicking the bucket. But once I dealt with the first guy, I knew they were weaklings so I tried to control myself."

"One of the men suffered severe trauma in their legs because you kicked him with your heel" The man passed her a scroll which was reproducing the exact moment when Ruby incapacitated that poor sod "He will never walk again."

"In my defense, he tried to split my head apart! If it weren't because I'm strong, he would have killed me! I defended myself and he paid the price for his idiocy and weakness!"

"Half of them are in coma."

"None of my business; They knew what they were getting into when began their lives of crimes"

"And what if one of them had died? What would you have done?" The man asked, his eyes completely focused on Ruby.

"I don't think I understand the question…"

"You could have killed one of them… Does that make you feel anything?"

"Not really." Ruby deadpanned "As far as I am concerned, all of them were low-lives that deserved that and so much more for the crimes they committed against the poor and the weak: Sure, killing them would have left a bad taste in my mouth and Yang would probably skin me alive if she found out… But I wouldn't care that much. Someone had to stop them and I just happened to be there at the time."

"So you think? And what makes you more capable of delivering punishment that the authorities?"

"Nothing. I don't believe I am above the law in any shape or form: In a perfect world, I would have witnessed the crime from outside the store, and I would have notified the police immediately. But guess what? This is not a perfect world: All I did was out of self-defense."

"Sounds like you are trying to excuse your actions with your own ideals"

"Take it however you want. In the end, the facts can't be changed: I was in the store when those guys came in to steal; They tried to kill me but were not able to do so; They fell, I remained; They were weak, I was strong. Nothing more, nothing else." Ruby finished, a tad irritated.

The man stared at Ruby for the longest time, his eyes betraying nothing. The young girl glared back, her silver eyes assessing him carefully, trying to decipher just how much power he carried behind that calm façade, and mentally preparing herself for her battle with this man.

Ruby Rose was not naïve or stupid; She knew when people were trying to play her for a fool… And something was telling her this man could not be trusted… And in all honesty, Ruby found him annoying: He was the kind of guy that liked to speak a lot.

Ruby hated those kinds of people.

"We also found your weapon…" The huntress cut the silence "It required five officers to carry it and bring it here. Why is it so heavy?"

"Ah! You brought Crescent Rose! That's good! I kind of realized I forgot it back there in the rooftop" Ruby told the adults with an embarrassed smile, the sudden change in attitude confusing them "You see; Since my fist are capable of killing a seasoned Huntsman, my uncle told me I should find a way to handicap myself and ensure my opponents survive. So I decided to create my own weapon! Her name is Crescent Rose and I made it myself back at Signal: It is a five-ton scythe that morphs into a sniper rifle!"

"Wait… You are telling me you carry five tons with you… Always?!" The huntress asked in disbelief.

"Yes! Since it's heavy, I have a hard time using it properly, so my overall output is diminished. Anyways, the rifle can shoot heavy AMR ammunition with high levels of accuracy! I used to fail every shot but nowadays, I am capable of hitting just about everything in my sights!"

"But why would you create and even learn to use a weapon such as that if you are strong enough by yourself?" The man asked in mild curiosity

"As I said before, Crescent Rose is heavy in order to handicap myself and lower my overall strength. That way, I will be unable to inflict fatal damage on my enemies…" She then looked at the table in shame "And I am kind of a weapon freak: It is therapeutic for me and helps me when I am angry. My uncle Qrow told me it would help and I've been doing it ever since"

"That I can tell…" The man commented, giving the woman a knowing glance "Say, Ruby, do you know who we are?"

"Of course: You are professor Ozpin, headmaster of Beacon Academy and she is professor Glynda Goodwitch, headmistress of Beacon Academy as well." Ruby asked without fail, making Glynda smile.

"One final question… Why are you attending to Signal, Ruby?" Ozpin asked, suddenly turning serious.

"The official version is because I want to become a huntress and save the world but…"

"But…?"

"I… I am scared… Of myself." The girl admitted sadly "This… This power I have… It's scary: I have no idea how I got it and I ignore how to control it. The only clue I had was… Well, my mother but she…"

"Summer Rose died…" Glynda answered for Ruby, a frown on her face.

"Yes. My mother was the only one with something similar to mine so she might have been able to teach me how to control myself… But she is gone… And now, I live trying my best to avoid killing anybody by accident… I want to become a huntress because I want to be so much more than… Whatever I am. And I also hope I can find the answers I am looking for as I travel through the world helping as many as possible. It is not the kind of life I wanted but it is everything I have, and I plan on making the best out of it."

"You are quite mature for someone your age." Ozpin commented with a sad smile.

"Oh, now you are just flattering me!" Ruby told the headmaster with a slight blush.

"I am being honest… Tell me, Ruby Rose: Would you like to come to my school?"

"Of course! I plan on going once I am done in Signal: I still have two years there so I have I have grown a little bit before I-"

"I meant, now" Ruby stared at the headmaster in confusion "My question is: Do you want to enroll in my school this year?"

"B-But! But I am two years younger!"

"Indeed, you are. After this display of skill, I can assure you will do just fine."

"What about my education?! You can't just pretend I can somehow compensate for two whole years?! There is so much I still have to learn!"

"I have seen your grades: First place in every class. I am sure you will do just fine."

"That is not…?! You can't just…?!" Ruby turned to Glynda and gave her best puppy eyes she could muster "Please, Miss Glynda! Make him understand!"

"It is Professor Glynda for you, Miss Rose." The woman told her dismissively "I expect to see you in three days for the initiation. Don't be late, Miss Rose."

The little girl stared at the two adults in disbelief: She opened and closed her mouth like a fish, trying to come with some sort of retort but alas, she found none. She resigned herself and decided to wolf down the cookies professor Ozpin brought with him. No point in wasting good dough and Ruby kind of wanted to drown her frustration in a sugar rush.

Oh, well.

This day cannot get any worse.

 _"Uhm, Professor Ozpin"_ The scroll came to life _"We have a… Problem."_ Ozpin looked at Glynda before he picked the call.

"What is going on, lieutenant?

 _"Ahm, there is a girl here asking to get inside the interrogation room?"_ The man continued, quite worried _"She insists we let her see her sister but…"_ At this, Ruby felt her face losing all color. _"You told us to not bother you… But this girl is insisting and I don't know if I- Hey! What do you think you are doing?! Freeze!"_ There was a loud racket coming from the scroll and Ozpin noticed Ruby slowly getting up and facing the door with fear in her eyes. _"I SAY FREE-"_ And the connection was lost.

The professors looked at each other in confusion before they heard the lieutenant screaming behind the metal door. Glynda gripped her riding crop tightly while Ozpin looked at Ruby with curiosity. They heard a few louder noises and then there was nothing… That was until the door burst out of its hinges and slammed itself against Ruby which such force it actually bent, taking the shape of the younger girl. Glynda attempted to help Ruby until she noticed something eerie and familiar emanating from the door… A pair of bloody red eyes shining in the shadows.

And once again, Glynda found herself remembering the past: She was a tall girl, with pitch black hair and bloody eyes, her youthful and well-endowed body was somewhat spoiled by her bitter nature…

That had been the past; The current newcomer was another tall girl with bloody eyes and the worst attitude Glynda had ever seen in her life… But instead of black clothes and hair, and a sickly pale skin. The girl at the door had vibrant blonde hair followed by a set of yellow clothes and a healthy shade of bronze skin.

"Ruby…" The older girl called to the mangled door with the shape of her sister "I am expecting a good explanation as to why there are almost fifteen men in various state of coma on the hospital and why are you here in the police station with Professor Ozpin and Professor Glynda" Her voice was leveled and neutral but by some strange reason, Glynda could feel the anger in every word.

"Y-Yang! How have you been?" Ruby began, getting rid of the door on her face and glancing nervously at her sister while she tried to come up with a good explanation "About those guys… It is a funny story! I promise you I used my scythe to fight them as you told me but the thing is… Uh… They kind of… You know…"

"They WHAT Ruby? Take your time and tell me what happened… I am LISTENING." Yang all but growled, making even Ozpin flinch slightly.

This was Ruby Rose's older sister.

Daughter of Taiyang Xiao Long and Raven Branwen.

She was Yang Xiao Long.

And she was furious.

 **完**


End file.
